tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357598022024-03-13T00:33:31.602-07:00Kweerspirit The writer and many of the topics are Queer, but there is more to the blog than that. Liberal spirituality, progressive politics, pop culture, social justice...mostly just good old fashioned left leaning musings.Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.comBlogger869125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-70957381933850244982022-07-06T15:39:00.001-07:002022-07-06T15:39:15.682-07:00Is New Thought Compatible with Social Activism? <p> Is New Thought Compatible with Social Activism? </p><p>by Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins (Divine Science Federation)</p><p><br /></p><p>Nineteenth century Metaphysical practitioners began as healers who would “treat” people affordably (and provide income for women who weren’t offered a lot of professional opportunities at the time). New Thought offered “universal healthcare” from the start! In those days, medicine wasn’t nearly as advanced as it is now, and treatment through mental prayer often proved as effective or more so (and less dangerous) than the medicine of the day. Safe, affordable healthcare available to all, often offered by women…that is a New Thought legacy.</p><p><br /></p><p>New Thought pioneers were models for women’s rights. Some women in early New Thought worked for women’s voting rights. </p><p><br /></p><p>A leading figure of the Mental Science movement was Helen Wilmans. The co-founder of Silent Unity and the Unity School of Christianity was Myrtle Fillmore. The Founders of Divine Science were women, first Malinda Cramer and secondarily, the Brooks sisters.</p><p><br /></p><p>The “Teacher of teachers” (who instructed many New Thought pioneers) was Emma Curtis Hopkins. The founder of the Home of Truth was Annie Rix Militz. Tehilla Lichtenstein was a co-founder of Jewish Science and she ran the movement when her husband died, making her the first Jewish woman to have her own pulpit (though she was a lay leader and not an ordained rabbi). The founder of the Universal Foundation for Better Living was Johnnie Colemon (and every president in UFBL’s history so far as been a woman). </p><p><br /></p><p>Consider this: the United Methodist church had its first woman bishop in 1980. The Worldwide Anglican Communion got its first woman bishop in 1989 (first woman priest in 1944). The first woman to lead a mainline denomination occurred in 2005 (Disciples of Christ). Amee Semple McPherson founded a Pentecostal church (Foursquare Gospel) in 1923; BUT…</p><p><br /></p><p>Christian Science (a metaphysical movement founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1875), ECH’s seminary in Chicago (1886), Home of Truth (1887), Divine Science (1888), and Unity (1889), were all started (Unity co-founded) in the 1800s by women.</p><p><br /></p><p>Today, there are prominent New Thought leaders who find that our belief in Oneness (God is the Source and Substance of all life so we are all part of God and connected to all that is) will cause us to care for those who are being treated unfairly. New Thought, then, has become a voice of social justice (as it was when New Thought feminists were working for universal suffrage). New Thought historian Mitch Horowitz tells us that Wallace Wattles (a major influence in self-help circles and is featured in The Secret) was a socialist.</p><p><br /></p><p>Some have understood New Thought to be only a personal philosophy meant to help retailers improve their sales, athletes compete more effectively, entertainers succeed in their artistic endeavors, and the average person experience better health and financial security. And certainly, New Thought principles are empowering and encouraging as we apply them in our lives. Nevertheless, Love is one of our powerful principles, and Love (which includes empathy, compassion, kindness) doesn’t sit back with apathy or indifference when our fellow godlings are experiencing challenge or despair. </p><p><br /></p><p>So, yes we pray, visualize, and encourage, but we also lend a hand, and we support organized efforts to relieve suffering in the world. As our Religious Science friends have said, we must “treat and move our feet.” </p><p><br /></p><p>Mystic Christian healer, Agnes Sanford, who borrowed many New Thought ideas and techniques, compared spiritual principles to gardening. She said one plants a peach tree, but until it yields peaches, one goes to the market. She used that specifically as an example for healing, suggesting that one prays for healing, but if the demonstration tarries, that’s what the doctor is for. </p><p><br /></p><p>I would add the principle holds for any condition…pray for it, and then receiving help from “human means” may prove to be the answer to the prayer. If God is All, however our Good comes to us in godly. And sometimes, our speech and action is what brings about the miracles in life. </p><p><br /></p><p>Some have suggested that progressive social policies or even supporting charities other than the local worship center are incompatible with New Thought teachings, but that isn’t my view. New Thought is and always has been diverse, and it isn’t limited by liberal or conservative ideologies. New Thought really is for everyone. </p><p><br /></p><p>Can New Thoughters be social activists? I believe so; I mean, I can’t be the only one (and I’m not).</p>Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-48437684654044274922021-06-25T11:07:00.003-07:002021-06-25T11:09:11.128-07:00Communion Thoughts <p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.37px;">A Durrell Discourse</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">Communion Thoughts (my own, that is):</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29.1px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">Transubstantiation = At the Eucharist, the bread and wine are miraculously transformed into Jesus himself.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29.1px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">Consubstantiation = The spirit of Jesus is present with and in the elements of Holy Communion.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29.1px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">Memorial Feast = The Lord’s Supper is a reminder of Jesus’ ministry and death (also remembering that the Last Supper was a Passover meal).</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29.1px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">Divine Oneness = Ritualistically sharing bread and cup together to remind us of our unity (union) with (comm) with all people, all life, and with the Source of life.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29.1px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">Over the last 50+ years, I have held (at different times) EACH of those sacramental views. NONE of them, in my opinion and experience, necessitates excluding anyone from the Table for their beliefs, political views, marital status, or sexual orientation.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29.1px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">Whether, for you, the Bread is divine, or the bread is just bread, there is nothing about the Bread that should be weaponized to control, hurt, shame or exclude others. </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">Your sacramental theology is your own, and you are entitled to it, but if you are using it to hurt, shame, control, or denigrate others, you are missing the point of it (regardless of what you believe “It” is) being a symbol (or affirmation) of grace. </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29.1px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">Jesus said, “Whenever you do this, remember me” - </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">pro-choicers, LGBTQ+ folk, divorced people, non-baptized folk, <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- everyone, just as they are, can follow that simple directive. Remember the loving, compassionate, justice-seeking Jesus, who fed people spiritually and physically, no questions asked. </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29.1px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">—Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">Senior Minister, Sunshine Cathedral </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29.1px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 24.37px;">#OpenTable #StopWeaponizingFaith</span></p>Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-55692456111233254692021-06-17T21:33:00.006-07:002021-06-17T21:33:36.152-07:00Remembering Mother Emanuel <p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">God of many names,</span></p><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div id="yiv5284201726"><div class="yiv5284201726WordSection1"><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We recall the events of 6 years ago at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">During a time of bible study and prayer, eight parishioners and the pastor were slain by one they welcomed.</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">People who gathered to seek and serve the God of their understanding were viciously murdered in the place they held sacred.</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We know, YHWH Shammah, <i>God who was and is there</i>, that the first voice to cry out in horror, pain, and sorrow, must have been yours.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We know, El Roi, <i>God who sees</i>, that you witness our violence, racism, injustices, and our failure to demand, defend, and demonstrate “liberty and justice for all.”</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We know, YHWH Rapha, <i>God who heals</i>, that there is much pain that leads to and results from on-going violence in our world.</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">YHWH Shalom, <i>you are our peace</i>.</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Give us the grace to repent of our violence and to become blessed peace-makers.</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Give us hope that justice will yet “roll out like waters.”</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Give us the will and show us the way to “do justice, love mercy, and live humbly.”</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Give us the courage to resist racism in our society and in our hearts, and to do the work of anti-racism. </span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Help us be better. </span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Help us do better.</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Help us rise to the level of love, compassion, and justice that you desire, El Elyon, <i>God Most High</i>.</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On this sad anniversary, we remember, and we bless the Mother Emanuel community of faith. </span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Amen.</span></div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">--Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins</div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Senior Minister</div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Sunshine Cathedral</div><div class="yiv5284201726MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div></div></div></span></div>Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-63578547504548772142021-06-07T10:17:00.002-07:002021-06-07T10:17:12.633-07:00GOD’S MIRACLE, NOT GOD’S MISTAKE<div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">GOD’S MIRACLE, NOT GOD’S MISTAKE</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">A Durrell Discourse </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">For years now at Sunshine Cathedral, we have said (repeatedly, often, from pulpit and in print, in lessons and in liturgy), “You are God’s miracle and not God’s mistake.” </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">After years of using this phrase as a sacred mantra at Sunshine Cathedral, I recently am noticing it popping up on social media. At first, I felt a bit proprietary, as if no other person might have ever thought to string those words together in that order. But then I remembered Ecclesiastes’ wise counsel, “there is nothing new under the sun.” I might have heard it or something similar years before I thought the phrase a product of my own genius. And whether it was me, Zig Ziglar, Mary Baker Eddy or Krishna himself who coined the phrase, what matters is that it is true. I now want everyone saying it, and acting as if the phrase fell from heaven (as perhaps it did). </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">In my theology, God is really all there is. One Source, One Power, One Presence, One Substance...God is all and in all. That doesn’t mean that we always remember our divinity or that our every act or word is godly, but when we get caught in our dramas and fictions, that doesn’t change the reality that our essence is divine, and what is really Real is what we call God, and what is real about us must be part of God. So, we aren’t mistakes, we are God expressing. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The message of the Incarnation, for me, isn’t that God became human once, but that God expresses in, through, and as all that is, including you and me. Jesus, then, is my reminder that when we are most human, we express divine love. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">If I’m part of God, then I am a miracle. If God is love and I am part of God, then my love is God’s love in action. I am, you are, we are God’s miracle and not God’s mistake: That isn’t a slogan to own, but a truth to share. If you see Sunshine folk posting it, feel free to share. It’s a message that needs to be universally embraced. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">No matter where you heard it first, I hope you hear it now - you are God’s miracle and not God’s mistake. I especially want my Queer siblings to embrace this truth. We are the Rainbow people of a Rainbow God. Our lives and our love are miracles, never a mistake. Spread the word!</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">(Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, Senior Minister, Sunshine Cathedral)</div></div>Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-13868111602505835802021-06-07T10:14:00.003-07:002021-06-07T10:14:26.982-07:00RECOVERING FROM RELIGIOUS ABUSE<div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">RECOVERING FROM RELIGIOUS ABUSE</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">A Durrell Discourse </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">In the Bible Belt, in various sects and cults, in “missional” and “evangelical” traditions…many of us were told we’d suffer for eternity if we didn’t ask Jesus to rescue us and take prominence in our lives. So, having no desire for eternal damnation, we said, “Jesus! Do please come into my life and do what you do to keep me out of hell!” We were told that God created hell and created the rules that we were bound to break that would land us in hell, but “loved” us so much that “he” (sic) gave us a loophole - Jesus. We bought it. And, we honestly loved Jesus, and we thought we loved God (though that dysfunctional, threatening, transactional setup isn’t really “love”). </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">But then, some of us discovered that our gender identity didn’t fit neatly into an arbitrary binary, and/or that our love and attractions were bigger than a false binary as well. Then suddenly, Jesus wasn’t enough. We were back on the track to hell! Now we needed Jesus AND self-loathing and the dishonesty of pretending to be straight (or cis). No wonder many of us turned to destructive behaviors or gave up on religion or never really learned to trust our friends or co-workers...no wonder we remained children in our families, or found ourselves irreconcilable with our families. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">We were told God was out to get us but loved us enough to give us spiritual protection from God’s own plan but that protection was cancelled if we were attracted to people who peed like us. We were left with such a crazy making religious outlook or we felt forced to give up religion for the sake of our sanity. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Screw all of that! I won’t give up the joy of baby baptisms. I won’t give up the love feast at the open table where, regardless of belief or background we share a ritual reminding us of our unity and innate goodness (Eucharist). I won’t give up the beautiful singing of hymns (though some of the hymns I love are from Lady Gaga rather than Charles Wesley). </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">I will give up the homophobic and human sacrifice requiring God of my terrifying childhood, but I will not give up the search for the Sacred, an experience of the Ground of being, the ubiquitous and everlasting Love that is beyond every creed, scripture, and sacrament, that not only does not and cannot condemn me for living authentically, but is fully present in my life and love. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Embrace your authentic identity and reclaim and redefine your spirituality. As we used to say in earlier days: Gay by God, Proud by choice! Works for Bi, Trans, Queer, and Questioning folk, too. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">We are each God’s miracle and not God’s mistake. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">(Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, Senior Minister, Sunshine Cathedral)</div></div>Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-81236588256720120402021-06-03T10:26:00.001-07:002021-06-07T21:39:50.140-07:00THE SACRED HEART AS A SYMBOL OF QUEER COMFORT<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="1g6lm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1g6lm-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="1g6lm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">THE SACRED </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">HEART</span><span data-offset-key="1g6lm-2-0" style="font-family: inherit;"> AS A SYMBOL OF QUEER COMFORT</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="33v51-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="33v51-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="33v51-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">A Durrell Discourse </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="25df1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="25df1-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="25df1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="4sj6a-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4sj6a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="4sj6a-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">June gives us Father's Day and LGBTQ+ Pride, but June (in the Roman Catholic tradition) is also the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Jesus' Sacred Heart represents love, mercy, grace, and compassion. Jesus' Heart is a symbol of divine love in human experience. Devotion to the Sacred Heart reminds us that faith should be kind and caring. Those of us who are Protestant or Humanist may not have grown up with the Sacred Heart devotional tradition, but if it gives us hope or joy, then why not embrace it?</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="6lgh-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6lgh-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="6lgh-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="eic6g-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="eic6g-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="eic6g-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">In the 18th century, Pope Clement approved the Feast of the Sacred Heart for certain locations. In the mid-19th century, Pope Pius approved the Feast for the whole Church. In 1899, Pope Leo dedicated the entire Catholic world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. During his pontificate, John Paul 2 maintained a devotion to the Heart of Jesus.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="31v9j-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="31v9j-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="31v9j-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="2c663-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2c663-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="2c663-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">According to tradition, devotees of the Sacred Heart can expect various blessings and aid throughout life, including inner peace and strong faith.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="cp375-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cp375-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="cp375-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="6jqe7-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6jqe7-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="6jqe7-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I love that this Sacred Heart celebration shares a month with LGBTQ+ Pride. The Heart of Jesus is a heart filled with justice-love, a heart with room for all who suffer, a heart that wishes joy and healing for everyone. The Heart of Jesus as a symbol of love seems fitting during a month where people are celebrating their love over against objections and insults from the worlds of politics and religion. People who have been heartbroken by rejection and cruelty can imagine a loving Heart that will always embrace them and never turn them away.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="701l7-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="701l7-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="701l7-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="boe8f-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="boe8f-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="boe8f-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">The sacred symbol won't be a comfort for everyone, but for those who miss (or never had but would like to try on) some of the metaphors and symbols of traditional faith, the Sacred Heart may be a balm for the pain that others have inflicted in the name of religion. We are certainly entitled to reject religion, but we also can reclaim and redefine religion. Those who weaponized it do not hold the deed to faith. </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="86tq6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="86tq6-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="86tq6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="fbf8r-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="fbf8r-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="fbf8r-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Today, my reflections include imagining the Sacred Heart as a sign of love for all who need Love's healing touch, especially the Queer children of God. </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="av4ne-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="av4ne-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="av4ne-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="c38ac-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c38ac-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="c38ac-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">(Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="d9r3p-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d9r3p-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="d9r3p-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Sunshine Cathedral) </span></div></div><p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></p><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="an2n2" data-offset-key="couaf-0-0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></div>Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-35480507368441021242021-06-03T09:19:00.004-07:002021-06-03T09:19:23.159-07:00GOD LOVES YOU, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT<div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">GOD LOVES YOU, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">A Durrell Discourse </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">I’m seeing a lot of “God loves you” talk in these early days of Pride Month. Good! But I am aware that such sentiments may be a bit hollow for those who doubt or who have rejected “God.” Of course, divinity need not be limited to an Olympian humanoid figure...God may be a power rather than a person, a presence, the source of all energy which makes up all that is, even a symbol to represent all that is good and beautiful. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">I’m in the God business and have dedicated my life to the God-experience, and yet, the God of my understanding is not a person in a great beyond, but rather, the very life that I know as my life, the heartbeat of the world I see, the substance of worlds that I can scarcely imagine. God isn’t something apart from me, but Something I am a part of...forever.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Ultimate Reality is too big (even “big” is too small a way to describe It) for us in our physical state to comprehend, so we are left with the god of our understanding (our various understandings). In a sermon once, Rev. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl q66pz984 gpro0wi8 b1v8xokw" href="https://www.facebook.com/shelley.hamilton.7509?__cft__[0]=AZXyaTSurUO3ubbamCkK59Hrv7BR07UkIPLThr8FLAknXCn0vey6GTtTJKH-45ZWUcddjt4bMZs_wz0IkzXQvX5MIsy3wSG7fWDajwsx9RWxltTEbfwzXcIEvY1B9DdziGA&__tn__=-]K-R" role="link" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--accent); cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0"><span class="nc684nl6" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Shelley Hamilton</span></a></span> said, “God is the search for God.” I can’t know exactly what she meant, but that phrase has stuck with me for almost 30 years, and how I understand it is that we experience God according to our consciousness (awareness, understanding, life-view). God (Life, Eternity, Reality, Existence) is bigger than anything I imagine, but I experience It as I imagine It. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Rev. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl q66pz984 gpro0wi8 b1v8xokw" href="https://www.facebook.com/NamasteDave?__cft__[0]=AZXyaTSurUO3ubbamCkK59Hrv7BR07UkIPLThr8FLAknXCn0vey6GTtTJKH-45ZWUcddjt4bMZs_wz0IkzXQvX5MIsy3wSG7fWDajwsx9RWxltTEbfwzXcIEvY1B9DdziGA&__tn__=-]K-R" role="link" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--accent); cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0"><span class="nc684nl6" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">David Alexander</span></a></span> once said it this way on a podcast, “God is our relationship to the ‘Thing Itself.’” Again, Ultimate Reality, the “Ground of Being” (<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl q66pz984 gpro0wi8 b1v8xokw" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/tillich?__eep__=6&__cft__[0]=AZXyaTSurUO3ubbamCkK59Hrv7BR07UkIPLThr8FLAknXCn0vey6GTtTJKH-45ZWUcddjt4bMZs_wz0IkzXQvX5MIsy3wSG7fWDajwsx9RWxltTEbfwzXcIEvY1B9DdziGA&__tn__=*NK-R" role="link" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--accent); cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">#Tillich</a></span>) is known as we experience It, and our experience will be shaped by what we believe about It (and a belief is just a well rehearsed opinion, a crystallized thought). I believe it was Ernest Holmes who said God is personal to the degree that we personalize God...another way of saying, “god is the search for god” or “god is our relationship to the thing itself.”</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">My non-theistic theology (or more accurately, my monistic theology, or perhaps, Panentheistic theology) means that, for me, God is not loving but is Love itself, not good, but Goodness (All that is good is an expression of God), not powerful, but all Power, not a being, but the Source of being.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">If God for you is a loving parent figure on a high mountain - then, let me join with the others who are saying, “God loves you!” </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">But if God (life, hope, joy, meaning, beauty, the animating spark of existence) is an experience that can’t be fully explained, a presence rather than a person, a Wholeness that includes you or high Ideal that you hold, then let me say it this way: God is Love and it exists in and is expressed through the love you share. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Don’t let religious vocabularies which are limited at best keep you from the euphoria of feeling good enough, empowered, joyful, and vibrant.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">God loves you, OR, God is love and dwells richly in and shows up as your love. Either way...Happy Pride!</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">—Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Sunshine Cathedral</div></div>Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-77244134820304860952021-06-03T09:13:00.009-07:002021-06-03T09:20:04.036-07:00Doesn’t the Bible Condemn Homosexuality? (Spoiler Alert: the answer is no)<div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Doesn’t the Bible Condemn Homosexuality?</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">by Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Doesn’t the bible condemn homosexuality? The short answer is, no.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The bible certainly records human fears and prejudices, as well as human hopes and resilience, but the bible, as a whole, isn’t about condemnation.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The bible is a collection of stories, songs, sermons, sayings, poems, and prayers covering centuries and continents and even a few languages. It is a rich and wonderful anthology that invites readers to think and feel, explore and imagine, heal and grow. In light of this understanding of our sacred texts, it would be difficult to think of them as being condemnatory.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Lifted from the larger narrative or divorced from cultural, linguistic, literary, or historical contexts, any sentence or phrase from scripture can be used to endorse or vilify almost anything imaginable. That is not, however, the most faithful way to engage the bible.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Relationship, hope, courage, generosity, second chances, compassion, and love are the values that are repeatedly featured in our scriptures.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">One can easily enough deconstruct and challenge the few bible verses that have often been used to demonize same-gender loving people. Moreover, one can without too much effort find several hints of same-gender love and attraction occurring in scripture, and even seemingly being affirmed; however, I am at a point in my life and ministry where I don’t need a bible verse to defend my sacred value nor a bible story to justify my experience of life. I simply trust that God is good, that love is holy, and that life is diverse. Same-gender loving people are, first and foremost, loving people, and love is not condemned in the bible; indeed, love is the biblical litmus test for what is holy.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">In the bible we find exhortations to welcome strangers, be good neighbors, forgive one another, care for the vulnerable, pray for others (including those who are unkind to us), treat others as we would wish to be treated, not judge others unfairly, live humbly and show mercy and work for justice…all of these are demonstrations of love. We find in the bible that “the fruit of the Spirit is love…” In fact, Jesus is recorded as having said that his followers could be identified by their loving actions. He also said love was the greatest of all commandments.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">For me, the message of love is the biblical message and mandate, and love does not condemn love. Love does not diminish people. Love does not seek to deny justice or dignity or safety to anyone. Love does not suggest that anyone is unworthy of or beyond the reach of love.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Does the bible, an anthology of writings whose running theme is love, condemn same-gender loving people? As someone who has spent my life studying, teaching, wrestling with, and even playing with the bible, I must say unequivocally, it does not.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">(Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins is the Senior Minister of Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl py34i1dx gpro0wi8" href="http://sunshinecathedral.org/?fbclid=IwAR3AefsqsJZogfNkNgU3cWaKwkQjWL917y8rzhPTu78A0p_lT_0PIH4Rqt4" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--blue-link); cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">Sunshinecathedral.org</a></span>)</div></div>Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-78618289956773780852019-10-23T13:13:00.000-07:002019-10-23T13:13:41.272-07:00American SinsThe bold public resurgence of racism, heterosexism, transphobia, xenophobia, jingoism, blatant mendacity, and pathological disregard for the planet is exhausting and discouraging.<br />
<br />
But now we can see what many of us were tempted to believe was past, or marginal. Our “have gun will travel” country has built on war, conquest, slavery, genocide, economic exploitation, and dehumanizing “the other” (including Irish and Italian and Polish immigrants before they we lumped into larger “white” identity, Puerto Ricans even though they are full citizens, Japanese who were incarcerated for their heritage, Chinese whose labor was exploited to build infrastructure, Jews, Muslims, until fairly recently in our history, Catholics, etc.). The ugliness we see has always been with us; we simply have nurtured the beast a bit more in recent years.<br />
<br />
Now that we can’t deny our sins, we have an opportunity to correct them, to atone, to heal, to make a conscious decision to be better. This is an ugly time, but it can lead to a better nation...a nation that admits its faults and actively seeks to correct them. May it be so.Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-26667311731613798812019-10-02T09:04:00.000-07:002019-10-02T09:04:25.724-07:00Praying With and For You My prayer this morning. Maybe I was praying with or for you:<br />
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Infinite Hope,<br />
Boundless Compassion,<br />
Abiding Peace,<br />
Enduring Love:<br />
My heart and mind are full of swirling thoughts.<br />
Some of them are difficult to make out.<br />
There’s an idea, no a memory, no a feeling.<br />
When its all soupy like that, I still trust that life is good, that there is grace equal to every need, that wisdom will show up when and how I need her most.<br />
So now, I simply relax and breathe.<br />
I feel connected to loved ones.<br />
I send goodwill to those who face difficulty or who endure pain.<br />
I believe bright days and joyful moments are on the way.<br />
I pause. I feel grateful. I know that I am strong, and so are those who are on my heart today.<br />
All is well.<br />
Amen.<br />
<br />
(Durrell Watkins)Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-72788972236315416852019-09-10T23:33:00.000-07:002019-09-10T23:33:04.219-07:0049 years after it was made, I finally watched John Waters’ Multiple Maniacs Tonight was my first time to see John Waters’ 1970 film “Multiple Maniacs.” What a wild ride!<br />
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There was a long, bizarre (and pretty vile) scene that involved traditional prayers, summarized bible stories, and the stations of the cross...what amazed me was the accuracy. Often when film makers reference religion, they get a lot wrong. This was hardly devotional, but neither was it ignorant. Of course all of that happened during a pretty gross misuse of a rosary, so there’s that. Oh, the Infant of Prague gets a cameo as well. Why not?<br />
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Of course there was shocking violence (so JW), and drugs and lots of sex (so 1970), and random creativity (a lobster monster that just shows up and then just leaves - after doing terrible things), as well as mediocre performances (there are times when you can see people struggling to remember lines, and other times when dialogue is recited without rhythm or feeling like a public school student being forced to recite the preamble to the constitution in front of the class), but then in the midst of all that there is real potential and raw talent being expressed by Mink Stole and Divine.<br />
<br />
In the end, after discovering that her beloved daughter (of whom she is super proud for dropping out of school, supporting herself as a sex worker, and dating a domestic terrorist) has been killed, Divine completely loses her shit (she was pretty well on her way before then), acts blindly out of her pain and rage, and is hunted by a system that values punishment over rehabilitation, healing, and restoration.<br />
<br />
It was haunting and beautiful and chaotic and disturbing and nauseating and creepy and profound and political and even spiritual...all at once (or at least in quick turns). It’s the kind of thing that was probably better to see alone (As I did), late at night, without so much as a glass of wine. This one requires all senses to be at the ready, including revulsion.<br />
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I don’t know why it took me so long to watch it (I’m a John Waters fan and even had the joy of meeting him a couple of years ago), but I’m glad I finally did. A young Waters certainly wasn’t afraid to explore any idea and cross any number of boundaries in doing so.<br />
<br />
MM is not humorless, but is far less comical than most of Waters’ films. And in several Divine flix, Divine gives us a wink as the large queen camping it up for laughs...but in Multi-Maniacs, Divine is real in an implausible way...She is simply the lead character, not a comic, but a “maniac.” The character is a woman who is played by a man...not schtick as much as just one more transgressive element in the picture. That may be the most genius part of it.<br />
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MM is a thinker. I like that, even if now I have post low-budg Indy horror-slasher flick insomnia. And I may never again be able to enjoy lobster. Don’t worry...I’ll pray through that one! Prayer works...I’m already craving a wood grilled lobster tail dipped in butter. Hmmmmmmm.Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-16428735949348167522019-08-08T12:22:00.000-07:002019-08-08T12:24:25.655-07:00 Pastoral Response to Violence & Racist Rhetoric<div align="left" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">
<b>Dear Friends:</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>I don't have a lot of commentary for you today, or a written homily, or a series of pithy talking points. What I do have is concern for the rise of hatred in the US and in the world, and what I can offer is prayer and an invitation.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 11pt;">Norms of </b><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><b>civility</b></span><b style="font-size: 11pt;"> and decency have been ignored for a while.</b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 11pt;">We cringe and cry as we see our siblings of transgender experience shunned, dehumanized, and even murdered. </b></div>
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<b>We worry that gains made for marriage equality are being undermined. </b></div>
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<b>We sigh in disbelief as refuge seekers are treated with cruelty. </b></div>
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<b>We gasp in horror as white supremacists gather in the daylight and spew their vile hatred. </b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 11pt;">We are saddened by the personal attacks made by </b><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><b>Caucasian</b></span><b style="font-size: 11pt;"> government leaders against other leaders who are persons of color. </b></div>
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<b>And we are completely exhausted by the epidemic of mass shootings that seems to be unique to this wounded nation.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>I said I could offer prayer and an invitation. Let me start with the invitation.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Of course we know that the gift of democracy is that we all get to participate in it. </b></div>
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<b>If you are concerned about the health of our country, then please participate in its governance. Write to your representatives, sign petitions, donate to candidates who articulate your values, and in every single election, please VOTE.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>But in addition to taking your civic duties seriously, I invite you to pray daily and worship weekly. When we gather together, sing together, pray together, learn together, are offered both challenge and comfort together, we grow, we heal, we find empowerment, we have our hope renewed. So pray daily for your community, your church, your loved ones, your country, the world...and gather weekly for worship where our shared love and hope can heal our hearts and perhaps infuse the life-stream of the planet with some much needed healing energy. </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div align="left" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">
<b>And now, for the offering of prayer:</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<em><b>Dear God,</b></em></div>
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<em><b>Heal our hearts. </b></em></div>
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<em><b>Heal our nation.</b></em></div>
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<em><b>Heal our world.</b></em></div>
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<em><b>Heal our needless divisions.</b></em></div>
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<em><b>Heal our troublesome suspicions.</b></em></div>
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<em><b>Heal our hatreds, our fears, our regrets.</b></em></div>
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<em><b>Of course, we know that what you do for us you must do through us, so give us the courage and the grace to respond to your promptings, that we may be your healing hands in the world.</b></em></div>
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<em><b>May we use vote and voice, time and treasure, word and work to bring peace and justice to this country and beyond, all for the sake of your love.</b></em></div>
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<em><b>Amen. </b></em></div>
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<em><b><br /></b></em></div>
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<em><b><br /></b></em></div>
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<b>Yours in shared service</b><em><b>,</b></em></div>
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<em><b><br /></b></em></div>
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<em><b><img alt="Durrell SIg" border="0" height="84" hspace="5" name="ACCOUNT.IMAGE.58" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/282f95d7001/c2c04a41-0cf6-4ee9-a753-4fc6c60fc4df.jpg" vspace="5" width="174" /> </b></em></div>
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<b style="font-size: 11pt;">Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins</b></div>
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<b>Senior Minister</b></div>
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<b>Sunshine Cathedral</b></div>
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Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-3452539747256674252019-06-24T10:23:00.000-07:002019-08-08T12:19:48.049-07:00Are miraculous healings real?<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i>Someone asked today about miraculous healings. She grew up in a church were prayer was used as a primary "therapy" for any and all diseases but has grown skeptical as she has seen people from her own faith tradition suffer and even die in spite of their beleif in the power of prayer. This was my response</i>:</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">My concern with dramatic "faith" cures is the depression and regret that result when the magic doesn't work for someone. Still, I believe in prayer. I also believe in medicine (which doesn't always seem to work either). I believe in the body's wisdom and resiliency. I believe that complementary therapies often help. Attitude, environment, genes, diet...so much goes into our experience of health. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">I have seen people recover when no one thought they could; and I've seen people who should have had a fighting chance not make it. I've expereinced blessings of recovered health for which I was very grateful...and other times, conditions remained or returned. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Life is complex. We do what we can to be happy and vibrant and productive...medicine, diet, prayer, lucky charms...whatever we can hold onto in a moment. Lots of things help, and nothing seems to work 100% of the time; but isn't that life? Prayer helps us feel connected to God, and when we feel connected to God we have less anxiety, more peace, more hope, and that all can contribute to an improved experience. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">I just met someone who swears that after only a couple of visits to a mystical healer he has experienced dramatic remission of disease in his own body. Who am I to doubt it? He feels better so I rejoice for and with him. But even Mary Baker Eddy (who built an entire movement around healing prayer) said, "We've all known the disappointment of unanswered prayer." </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">It works when it works, and even when it doesn't, there may be other blessings or other experiences of healing that took place. I wouldn't give up on any practice that gives you hope or encouragement, but I wouldn't think of it as a zero sum game. The all or nothing, it's 100% or it's BS mindset seems to do more harm than good. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">I say try whatever seems worth the effort, rejoice if it works, look for how it helped even if it didn't work the way you wanted, and know that life is full of ambiguities and unanswered questions. We do, after all, live by "faith" (trust) and not by "sight" (proofs, guarantees, etc.).</span></span>Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-55155313173841317772019-06-11T15:57:00.000-07:002019-06-12T14:45:01.017-07:00Jesus might have been...<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Does the idea of gay Jesus, married Jesus, Black Jesus, Brown Jesus, Jewish Jesus (this one’s not really up for debate), seditious Jesus, revolutionary Jesus, bi-Jesus, gender fluid Jesus, doubting Jesus, poor Jesus, homeless Jesus, illiterate Jesus, victimized Jesus, ethno-centric Jesus who might have grown past that, feminist Jesus, taboo smashing Jesus, generous to a fault Jesus, justice seeking/justice demanding Jesus, Jesus who never even heard of the Trinity, day labore</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">r Jesus, philosopher Jesus, run of the mill healer/exorcist Jesus, mystic Jesus, kind of funny Jesus, storyteller Jesus, Jesus so buried in myth as to be practically unknown/unknowable...bother you? </span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">If so, why? What about the Jesus others have encountered, considered, wrestled with, played with, prayed with, journeyed with that threatens your experience? </span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Is it possible Jesus was more than or other than what you’ve heard, believed, or so far experienced? And what if the others are completely wrong and you are completely right? Does that delegitimize their journey? Does that deny their right to explore and discover for themselves? </span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We can discuss why our Jesus experiences differ. But if you come at me with insults and rage, not only will I probably be done from that moment, but I will also wonder why your experience of Jesus was so fragile that you couldn’t imagine that other experiences might also be possible.</span>Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-41335664915219492602019-06-11T11:05:00.000-07:002019-06-11T11:05:45.344-07:00I'm Interested in Jesus' Love Life BECAUSE I Love Jesus<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love Jesus (not in the imaginary friend way of my childhood, but I love searching for him in history and I love how I come to life when I make certain discoveries...my christology is rooted in a 1st century flesh and blood revolutionary more than in a cosmic Olympian type figure). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">Because I love Jesus I am very interested in his revolutionary, anti-imperial politics, in his work as a healer/exorcist/lay philosopher, in his risk taking, in his intimate/personal connection with the God of his understanding, in his insistence on flouting cultural taboos, in </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">his willingness to rethink and dialogue with interpretations of his inherited scriptures and traditions, in people coming to believe he might be the messiah (and his possibly coming to agree with them), with people’s continued experience of him (or his memory or his values) beyond his execution, and I am interested in his personal relationships...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">his closeness to a beloved disciple, his friendship with Peter, his place in a chosen family in Bethany, his interesting relationship with a woman from Magdala, his repeated encounters with a mysterious young man in Mark’s gospel, what it meant for him to look at him “and love him”, what it might mean for him to be called “son of David” (whose love for Jonathan was notorious)...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">Because I love Jesus I love exploring his life, his intimacies, his sexuality. Like his ancestor David, he might have been bisexual, or he may have been gay, or he may have been straight, or he might have flowed up and down the continuum. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">Because I love Jesus, I want to know more about him. Just as those who love me must love the Queer me (because that’s the me there is), to love Jesus is to try to know him, and the him there is to know might be gay or bi...its definitely Queer (regardless of the attractions he felt). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">My soteriology is about “wholeness”...and since Jesus is part of the way that I found my path to wholeness (which includes my sexuality), I want to know the whole Jesus (as much as is possible with the years and myths that lie between us) which includes his sexuality. I don’t care if he was celibate or not, that’s none of my business, but he had human feelings and connections and covenants, and those do matter to me a great deal.</span></span>Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-31562540840470079852019-04-19T10:07:00.000-07:002019-04-19T10:08:44.821-07:00From Trauma to Triumph (A Good Friday Reflection)<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<b>From trauma to triumph</b><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">by Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">“Perhaps Jesus would have preferred less than a long night of trauma in Gethsemane or less than three days in the tomb. Yet, in the midst of the dark hours…and…the lonely days and nights…life and light were active and miracles were happening…It is in the midst of weakness that you are made strong. In fear-filled times you are given courage. In trauma you<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"> are brought into serenity. In discouragement you find faith.” Mary L. Kupferle</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I do not for a single moment believe that Jesus was predestined to be tortured to death. Jesus was killed by imperial powers the same way many others were. What is worthy of celebration isn’t that Jesus was tortured to death, but that the cruelty that tried to silence him and stifle the hope he gave to so many, failed. Yes, he suffered, but he still lives…in story, in song, in scripture, in ritual, in our imaginations, in every act of kindness, empowerment, mercy, and justice that we perform in his name. God doesn’t send the horrors, but God gives us the courage to face them, and miraculously, to even rise above them. Good Friday doesn’t enshrine trauma, it points toward triumph. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tenebrae Service at Sunshine Cathedral tonight at 7 pm (4/19/19)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">1480 SW Ninth Ave</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SunshineCathedral.org </span></b></div>
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Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-71393862141130589052019-03-22T17:08:00.002-07:002019-04-06T10:04:34.665-07:00WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY JESUS IS LORD<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY JESUS IS LORD</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">As a Christian, my affirmation of faith is “Jesus is Lord.” That doesn’t mean he is divine (though, in my theology of omnipresence, we are all in and part of the divine Presence); it means my very faith vocabulary and experience is a challenge to empire, autocracy, and oppression. It means that in a world where Caesar was Lord of the vast empire, a group of subjects, slaves, and peasants dared to call someone else “Lord”, and the person they chose was a carpenter/fisher/possibly illiterate itinerate preacher/Palestinian Jew from an occupied territory. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Caesar’s empire killed “Lord” Jesus and his admirers insisted that somehow, he didn’t stay dead! In story and ritual and imagination and personal experience, he was still around (and remains so). So, calling Jesus “Lord” is an affirmation that significance isn’t limited to earthly/physical years, and it is a rebuke of empire, injustice, and cruelty.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">It occurs to me, then, that one cannot have Jesus as Lord and be a fan of unbridled militarism, systemic racism, legalized discrimination against Queer folk, colonization of women’s bodies, or tyrannical narcissism in seats of power. If Jesus is Lord, Caesar ain’t...whether he wears a crown or a red ball cap. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">There is, obviously, a sentimental and personal devotion involved in calling Jesus “Lord” as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jesus loved the unloved, touched the untouchable, saw and heard the marginalized, offered hope to the hopeless, and helped the broken and dis-eased to feel whole again. For Jesus to be Lord means that we value compassion, kindness, tolerance, inclusivity, and hospitable welcome. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">For Jesus to be Lord means we want bridges rather than walls. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">For Jesus to be Lord means we hurt when we see others hurting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">For Jesus to be Lord means a healing touch (medical care) for everyone who needs it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">For Jesus to be Lord means that we would never and could never consider crushing the spirit of someone because of their heritage, the way they pray, or who they love. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">For Jesus to be Lord means affirming the sacred value of ALL people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s too easy to make Jesus the distant face of a more distant god, and it doesn’t make the world kinder, healthier, safer, or more joyful. I won’t reduce Jesus to a deity...for me, he’s Lord! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Too many people worship their fears and hatreds and call them God, and many call that god “Jesus.” But if Jesus is Lord, then we will work ceaselessly for the oppressed, the marginalized, the forgotten, the weak, the hurting, the wounded, the hungry, the sick, the refugee, the asylum seeker, the justice seeker, the bullied, the shamed, the shunned, and all the so-called “least of these.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The oldest creed of the Jesus Movement is “Jesus is Lord.” It remains the cry of my heart, and the motivation for how I wish and try to live in the world. And if Jesus is Lord, then we still have a lot of work to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">—Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fort Lauderdale, FL USA </span></div>
Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-82255152948366989282019-02-06T09:00:00.000-08:002019-02-06T09:08:24.830-08:00Musings of a Pro-Choice Pastor Pastor Durrell says: “If you celebrate Abraham’s ’faithfulness’ for being willing to slaughter his own child,<br />
If you are unaware of or unconcerned about Jephthah’s sacrificing his own daughter,<br />
If you use Sodom and Gomorrah (a story void of love or romance or attraction) to condemn gays but have no problem with Lot’s willingness to sacrifice his daughters to a rape gang only later to commit incest with them himself,<br />
If you ignore the passage in Exodus that says if two men fighting cause a pregnant woman to miscarry, a fine must be paid - unless the WOMAN is inured, then its ‘eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life, hand for hand, foot for foot’,<br />
Or if you’re Christology involves the belief that a deity required the brutal execution of ’his’ (sic) Son (and that’s somehow a good thing)...<br />
Then your opposition to a woman’s freedom to make her own procreative health choices is not about the bible. There are child sacrifices in sacred scripture that you find laudable, and there is no passage forbidding fetus removal or early pregnancy termination.<br />
Your belief may be sincere and even passionately held, but a biblical mandate it is not.<br />
Please stop using religion to colonize women’s bodies.<br />
Let’s create a world where the need for abortion is rare. In the meantime, men should not ever get the final decision about women’s choices.” (dw)<br />
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#ProChoicePastorDurrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-21094541491250873132018-12-14T07:51:00.000-08:002018-12-14T07:51:21.139-08:00Why I Resist TrumpSaddam Hussein, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Idi Amin...If more people had resisted them before they became super powerful, brutal, autocratic dictators, history might have unfolded a bit differently. My opposition to Trump is not partisan. I don’t reject him because he’s on “the other team”...I reject him because he is a danger to decency, justice, fairness, equality, and peace. I am not a member of his party (and neither was he for most of his life), but I didn’t wake up in a deep, despondent depression on Nov. 9, 2016 because I’m a tax and spend liberal who doesn’t believe Science is Satan’s tool and who believes compassion is not a sign of weakness and my lady lost (with 3 million more votes than the so-called winner...though that fact is galling)...I woke up in deep despair because an incompetent, soulless, psycho rode a wave of racism, xenophobia and corruption to immense power and I was honestly scared. We will have R and D presidents and they will do things I agree with and things I don’t...my 100% rejection of Trump has nothing to do with that. My rejection of Trump is my chance to say I did what I could when I could to prevent an Idi Amin (who was in power for 8 years...may that not even be an option for us!) from ruling with unchecked brutality in my own country.Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-55679195195534835822018-12-04T17:26:00.000-08:002018-12-04T20:11:27.690-08:00My Not Very Lefty Attitude Toward Bush 41<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">My possibly controversial attitude toward the passing of President Bush. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Full disclosure (and unless we met 10 minutes ago, you know this already): I am not a member of the Republican Party. I have never voted for a GOP candidate who was running opposed by a Democrat. I have only voted for Democratic presidential candidates (so far). I believe we need and deserve and can afford a strong social safety net. I believe war should be avoided whenever possible. I believe the government should try to protect the environment. I believe health care is a right, and higher education should be affordable. No person who works full time should ever be living below the poverty line. I am pro-choice (realizing that even “choice” implies privilege that not everyone has). I am a person of faith and cherish the freedom of religion, AND, I am furious that “religious freedom” is misapplied and intentionally misunderstood to protect and promote a variety of prejudices and injustices. Reasonable gun safety legislation is desperately needed. I hold the radical view that LGBTQ citizens are entitled to equal protection and equal opportunity and are, in fact, fully human. And, the Reagan-era silence and apparent apathy in the face of AIDS was almost unforgivable, and certainly cost many lives. Had the sufferers not been largely gay folk, I honestly believe the response would have been swifter and more compassionate. So...you know, a hard right winger I ain’t. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">That being said, my own health and sanity depend on a level of grace, a measure of forgiveness, a need to see more than misdeeds when evaluating a human life, especially a life that was dedicated (in whatever flawed way) to public service. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I do NOT share the ever so popular view that Reagan was a great leader. He was charming and patriotic and eloquent, and often, wrong. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">At this point in my life, I can say absolutely nothing positive about Donald Trump. I hope I grow to a point where I can one day say something good about him, but I find him to be the least qualified, least moral, and most dangerous person to occupy the WH in my lifetime. But I tire of hating him, and I do pray that I am or will evolve to the point of being able to pity him, forgive him (and those who enable him), and look to a future filled with hope.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I am more gracious when it comes to Bush 41. I did NOT vote for him. I AM aware of a series of things that I think he could have done better. I am also aware of things he did well. I believe his intention was to serve honorably. I am not excusing his mistakes or misjudgments, I’m simply not reducing his life to them. I know many of my friends and fellow liberals are outraged by him, but I’m so tired of hatred and rage and despair and regret...I am NOT chastising anyone who feels entitled to such feelings or who feels that such feelings are the only feelings available to them, but I am saying that for me, for my peace of mind, I have to be able to honor his service and let him depart this world with dignity and peace. No one has to share my view, but I hope those who don’t will understand that it is also a legitimate path. Our complex world offers very few all right vs. all wrong answers...we’re all just to trying our best to make meaning in the midst of chaos. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I have personally been hurt, betrayed, insulted, deceived by people, and anger is natural. Trust is sometimes destroyed forever. But eventually, I find myself being willing to be willing to forgive...if only because the anger is too exhausting and I’m getting too old to haul it around all the time. If I can forgive, or try to forgive, or be willing to allow forgiveness to overtake me when it comes to people in my life who proved untrustworthy, then I can probably forgive well meaning, flawed, sometimes myopic political leaders who deal with pressures, challenges, and choices I will never face. That’s not a pass to all A-holes, but it is a declaration that at some point, I have to let the A-holes go so that they don’t continue to hurt me because I am keeping them active in my own head. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I voted for Dukakis. I voted for Clinton. Bush 41 wasn’t my candidate, but he was my president. And so to President Bush I can say, “Rest in peace.” And that actually gives me some peace.</span></div>
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Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-72114441515837027892018-11-16T07:15:00.000-08:002018-11-16T07:39:38.841-08:00Prayers Make a Difference <div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">So here’s a delightful observation I made yesterday (my birthday). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Of course there were the copious wishes for a happy birthday (and it was happy, and the wishers of happiness certainly contributed to that fact!). There were also lots of prayers, affirmations, and blessings. It reminded me of how tangible the energy of kindness is, how savory goodwill is, how delicious love is, and how intentions travel on currents of thought and feeling to actually touch and uplift those for whom they are offered. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We all pray in different ways, but the methods are secondary to the intent. Good wishes, affirmations, invocations of hope, expressions of love, and requests made of a Universal Presence all contribute to something wonderful being shared in the world. So, I am grateful for the good wishes and blessings yesterday (and some have continued today...every day is a good day to offer a blessing) and for the reminder that prayers of every sort make a difference. Keep praying, y’all. Not just for me, but for whoever may cross you mind today. It’s good business!</span></div>
Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-35867641704879977882018-11-06T16:21:00.002-08:002018-11-16T07:15:50.365-08:00Midterm Election Prayer Midterm Election Prayer<br />
By Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins<br />
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Spirit of shared life,<br />
In the United States it is election time again.<br />
It is time to choose our House of Representatives, a third of our Senate, and many of our governors and local officials.<br />
We can’t ask you to do what we will not, but we can invite you into our thinking, into our actions, into our attitudes, and into our service.<br />
It is both a right and a responsibility of all citizens to vote.<br />
May we have the courage to resist voter suppression.<br />
May we have the desire to participate in shaping the direction of our nation.<br />
May we know that our votes matter, and are needed.<br />
And may we vote according to conscience and character.<br />
May our votes be influenced by both head and heart.<br />
May our votes protect equality, promote justice, preserve peace, and proclaim a respect for the dignity of all people.<br />
Inspire us to vote in this election, and in every election that follows.<br />
May we do our best to be our best, in the name of all that is good and holy. Amen.Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-39313916023821752532018-10-25T17:32:00.000-07:002018-10-25T17:43:50.447-07:00Y’all, We Just Have to Do BetterI don’t say this to be unkind, to be condescending, or to be disrespectful of cherished values...I say this because our survival may depend on our waking up. If someone tells you the earth is 6k years old, that person is either a moron, a crazy person, a jokester, or a very sheltered and naive person who has been woefully misinformed. In any case, s/he is WRONG. Who cares? We all should, because if we ignore reliable science on matters like the earth’s age, then we’ll ignore science about climate change, gender identity, sexual orientation, childhood/adolescent/adult development, dementia, immune suppressing diseases...stuff that really matters. You get to have your god, your religion, your rituals, your myths, your values, and your dreams (I am very thankful for my own), but you must also be open to learning, to reason, to peer reviewed information, and to ideas that offer solutions other than “hate/fear those brown people or those queers or those non-Americans over there.”<br />
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Children are in cages. Families are torn apart. Refugees fleeing for their lives are being turned away (or turned back to the hells they escaped). The environment is under attack. Same gender loving people and gender non-conforming/non-binary/transgender/two spirit people are having their families, their lives, their very identities threatened. It’s time to wake up. It’s time to be smarter than we’ve been. And it is certainly time to participate fully in our democracy. Apathy is hurting us even more than the dedication of the unenlightened.<br />
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The earth isn’t flat and it isn’t young. Living, breathing, named, thinking, socially interactive children matter at least as much as fetuses. The earth isn’t invulnerable. And ignoring these facts has put our collective butts in a sling. Please, let’s do better.Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-72110022940340196802018-06-08T09:21:00.003-07:002018-06-08T09:24:26.380-07:00Lots of Feels as EDS’ St. John’s Chapel is Deconsecrated Today The Philadelphia Divinity School and the Episcopal Theological School merged in the 1970s to become the Episcopal Divinity School. EDS had diverse faculty (Episcopal, Presbyterian, Jewish, Asian, African American, Caucasian, men, women, gays, lesbians, lay, ordained) and a diverse student body (Episcopal, Catholic, Lutheran, UCC, Unitarian Universalist, MCC, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist, Anglicans from Kenya, Uganda, Jamaica, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, etc), and it was part of a world class consortium (The Boston Theological Institute) which included Boston College, Boston University, and Harvard.<br />
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EDS was a special place dedicated to anti-oppression work, to an inclusive gospel, to sharing the all-inclusive and unconditional love of God.<br />
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And, more than a school, it was a community. One never really was graduated from EDS. One was degreed, but never felt the need to “leave.” One to three times a year, every year since I earned my DMin there, I would go “home” to EDS.<br />
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EDS lives on in the ministry of the church I pastor and in parishes, Cathedrals, Chaplaincies, service organizations, the diaconate, classrooms, and hearts all over the world.<br />
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Last year, EDS was closed down (unnecessarily, in my view, and in ways that many of us resisted). EDS’ name and money still exist as EDS@Union (basically the Anglican house of studies at Union Theological Seminary in NYC, my other beloved theological alma mater). If the merger had been done more transparently and honestly (by EDS trustees), and if EDS could have retained a degree program (MATS or DMin maybe), I think it would have been something I could have celebrated (two great schools joining forces), and/or if they had kept one or two EDS faculty (they sacked them all) that would have been at least kind (and bridge building). Instead, the merger feels more like loss and has caused grief for many.<br />
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These thoughts are with me as St John’s Chapel on the campus of what was EDS in Cambridge, MA is deconsecrated today. God bless the EDS diaspora and the EDS energy that still flows through so many ministries.Durrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35759802.post-8917219055103220212018-06-08T07:13:00.000-07:002018-06-08T07:35:29.111-07:00Pardon My Overshares Pardon My Overshares<br />
When I came out to myself, I came out to the world (and btw world, in case you forgot, I’m still gay!). And it was such a liberating and life-giving experience that it taught me to live my life openly, gladly, and as much as possible without shame or fear (or at least in spite of fears).<br />
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And so, I may “overshare” on occasion. I share my doubts, my challenges, my victories, my hopes, my joys. I share about my battles with (and various victories over) depression. I shared about my detached retina, long healing process, and the joy of finally having better vision than before the incident. I shared when loved ones passed from this life experience to whatever is next. I share about my long, complicated, and often dysfunctional relationship with the scale<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;">. </span>I share about coming of age in the world of AIDS and living well as a long term survivor. Recently I’ve shared about a fairly brief experience of Bell’s Palsy (and the exciting and rapid improvement that followed).<br />
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I am not looking for sympathy (well, not from the masses...I have my personal sympathy providers and I’ll call them when I need them). I’m not looking for anything, actually. What I want to do is share that living a life of faith is not necessarily a life of constant ease, but it can be a life of constant hope and joy that is frequently renewed. I want to show that faith can help us find and employ tools that will enable us to conquer, survive, learn from, or reinterpret the challenges in life. Faith can even give us the power to laugh and laughter, as it turns out, is healing.<br />
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I simply want to be a credible witness to the truth that while experiences come and go, we always have the power to hope, to love, to laugh, to keep moving forward. We can demonstrate blessings in the middle of uncertainty, and we can experience love, peace, gratitude, and optimism regardless of the circumstances at hand.<br />
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I don’t always do it as well as I’d like. I can feel defeated or overwhelmed or afraid like everyone else, but I do try to remind myself that I don’t have to stay stuck in those feelings forever. And when I change my attitude about something, I almost always, to some degree, also change my experience of it. And I hope that is encouraging to others who may be facing difficulties.<br />
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So, forgive me for the overshares, but I offer them as gifts, and like all gifts, if they don’t appeal to you, “accidentally” leave them in the car and forget about them (possibly regift them later). But if they do encourage you, I am so glad and that alone makes it a blessing for me.<br />
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—Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins<br />
Sunshine Cathedral<br />
Ft. LauderdaleDurrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06640728073187109153noreply@blogger.com0