Kweerspirit : pluralism

Showing posts with label pluralism. Show all posts

Monday, April 27, 2015

Another prayer for Marriage Equality

All-inclusive, unconditional, divine Love,

Eternal Mother, Father, and Friend,

Goddess of justice/Lord of liberty,

Source of peace, hope, and joy,

Omnipresent spirit of life,

Heartbeat of all people,

Field of all possibilities,

Song of the universe,

Pure consciousness,

Infinite compassion,

Inward light,

Over-soul,

All-in-all,

We pray today for marriage equality in the United States. It exists in many states, and in some nations, and now we dare to hope that it will be a reality throughout this country.

We pray that all loving, adult couples who wish to marry will have the opportunity to do so, that they may love and care for each other within legally recognized unions.

The US Supreme Court will hear a case and in the weeks or months that follow will make a decision that could make marriage be an equal right rather than a heterosexual privilege. And if they do so, that will be very good news for same-gender loving people all over the world.

It might inspire other countries to legalize marriage regardless of the gender identities of people in love.

It might give LBGT people hope and courage as they struggle for safety and equality in their various homelands.

And it will send a message to same-gender loving people of all ages throughout the US that the blessings and responsibilities, security and opportunities of marriage can be theirs, complete with every legal protection they deserve.

We stand at the threshold of a great, new day.

Let the sacred value of all people be affirmed.

Let the dignity of every person be recognized.

Let the goodness of mutual love be celebrated.

Let there be liberty and justice for ALL.

In the names of lovers and healers, justice workers and peacemakers,

in the names of those who have been vilified, marginalized, persecuted or oppressed simply because they were gay or lesbian,

in the names of all who have dared to speak out in favor of justice-love and equality,

in the names of all who have “come out”,

in the names of those who longed to “come out” but somehow could not,

in the names of those who refused to give up religion even when religion seemed to give up on them,

in the names of every loving couple who formed a spiritual marriage even though the state would not recognize it,

in the names of those who never gave up hope that marriage equality would come to pass and that love would prevail,

in the names of all helpers of humanity we pray.

Amen.

Sunday, June 08, 2014

Spirit Reflections (Pentecost)

I shared these thoughts last Tuesday on our weekly Lectionary Webinar.

These are the readings that Sunshine Cathedral used today for Pentecost and these are my reflections on the texts:

Numbers 11.29
Moses said, “…I wish that all of God’s people were prophets and that God’s spirit would be upon them!”

For “spirit” or the energy of life to be omnipresent, then it must be part of every life. The spirit that “Moses” (it is unlikely that Moses wrote Numbers, or any text, and some scholars doubt if Moses is even an historical person) wishes would be on people is the spirit (the activity, the motivation, the power) of prophecy (action, seeking change, challenging oppression, offering hope all in the name of God). It isn’t an invocation to coax the spirit of life to be present (it is, after all, omnipresent), but an affirmation that we are meant to make a positive difference in our world.

The Wisdom of Kahlil Gibran
“I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are children of one religion, and it is the spirit.”

Gibran’s universal religion (culturally he was Maronite Catholic but his spirituality was that of a mystic and a poet and mysticism and art are not the sole property of any one tradition) suggests that spirit is one and we are each part of that universal wholeness. It is monistic, panentheistic, and universalist in tone. Spirit is the substance of every life, the one true reality. Traditions are meant to give us vocabularies to explore the depths of spirit, but the one life that individuates as every life is in no way limited by any tradition or vocabulary.

The Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hahn
“The holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, penetrated him deeply, and he revealed the manifestation of the holy Spirit. Jesus healed whatever he touched. With the holy Spirit in him, his power as a healer transformed many people…I [feel] that all of us also have the seed of the holy Spirit in us, the capacity of healing, transforming, and loving. When we touch that seed, we are able to touch God…”

Zen monk Thich Nhat Hahn echoes Gibran’s universalism as well as his idealistic monism. “All of us also have the seed of the holy Spirit in us…” The one life expressing through and as our lives.

Acts 2.1-4 (NIV)
¹When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in [new ways] as the Spirit enabled them.

The Pentecost narrative uses fire imagery (reminiscent of the Zoroastrian fire cult) as well as the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) in imagining the early church being energized (spirit-filled) to be the resurrected and returned body of Christ (the parousia occurs as the church is raised up to be Christ in the world, though it is unlikely that it happened in a single instant as the story suggests…the church, like all movements, evolved over time). Wind, life-force, breath, energy, power…this is the imagery for the spirit and represents action, movement. The Pentecost narrative is a call to get busy, to be justice seekers, healers, and agents of positive change. Such change is also represented by learning to speak in new ways. The message of progressive spirituality is a new tongue for some. The message of Queer liberation and empowerment is a new tongue for some people. The message of feminist theology is a new tongue for some people. Inclusive language is a new tongue for some people. The blending of science, philosophy and religious pluralism into a unified spiritual system that welcomes truth wherever it may be found is a new approach, a shift in consciousness, a different way of exploring meaning. Pentecost isn’t a magic moment in ancient history; it is the power to keep moving, keep exploring, keep finding new ways to embody the Sacred in the world. And we can…the wind filled the entire room, flames rested above every person. We all have the power to make a difference.

John 7.37-39 (NIV)
³⁷On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive…

Just as fire and wind represented the power of divine life in Acts, so does water in the Johannine text. The power of life, rivers of living water, flow from within us when we believe in the Christ, the divine Ideal, the Inward Light, the Highest Self, the Sacred Nature that is at the core of every life. That divine Ideal or Christ principle is represented in John’s gospel by Jesus but, as indicated in the previous readings, it is a universal reality and is in no way limited to any religious tradition, vocabulary, text, or figure.

--Rev Dr Durrell Watkins

Senior Minister

Sunshine Cathedral

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

National Day of Prayer

Prayer is always active in the deepest recesses of our souls.

The prayer is not always voiced or brought to conscious attention, but it is very real and always present. If we were to put the prayer of our hearts into words, it would take the form of one of several phrases, such as, “let there be peace on earth” or

“let my hope be renewed” or

“comfort and strengthen my loved one” or

“may justice prevail” or

“grant us wisdom” or

“may something good come from this situation.”

But whatever the words would be if we were to choose words, the real prayer is simply the wordless longing to know that we are held forever safe in the embrace of unconditional, everlasting, divine Love.

And so it is that on this National Day of Prayer we turn within to recognize the prayer of our hearts, the holy desire to know that ultimately all is well, the silent affirmation that we are forever part of the universal Life that is the source and substance of every life.

Ocean of wisdom,

Light of hope,

Warmth of holy Fire,

Love that will not let us go,

Breath of life,

Field of unlimited possibilities,

Today may we be aware of our unity with all beings, with all worlds, with the universe and all that is beyond.

Today, may our willingness to trust that we are one with All That Is give us courage, peace, gratitude and joy.

And today, as the Hindu and the Humanist, the Mormon and the Muslim, the Jew and the Jain, the Protestant and the Pagan, the Catholic and the Christian Scientist, the Buddhist and the Baha’i express hope, awe, wonder, gratitude, and goodwill, as each prays in her own way, as each reveres That which he calls Sacred, may we know that not only are we one human family, but we are sharing the universal experience that we call prayer; and in this remembering, in this sharing of the power of prayer, may we love more and may our love motivate us to live in ways that will bless the whole world.

Amen.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Never Assume...

Today is the Feast Day of the Assumption of the Blessed Lady Mary, Mother of Jesus, if your personal piety or religious tradition observes it. Those who observe it call it the most important of the Marian feasts.

Jesus' ascension is modeled after the story of Elijah being taken into the heavens/eternity (without dying) by a whirlwind (althought Jesus was executed and it was his resurrected presence that was said to ascend).

The Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox traditions have continued the story telling tradition Ascension by applying the same phenomenon to Mary. The Eastern church doesn't have a dogma about Mary not dying first, but in 1950, Pope Pius (speaking ex cathedra, and thus relying on papal infallibility, a doctrine only from the 19th century) dogmatically defined the Assumption of Mary declaring her to have been taken into heaven (bodily) without dying.

There isn't much about Mary in the bible (there is actually more about her in the Qu'ran).

Some value Mary as a co-Redemptrix, Queen of Heaven (a title held by the Egyptian goddess Isis as well), spiritual mother of all people (based on the story of Jesus telling his beloved friend that Mary would now be his mother). For those who have a "high" Mariology (a devotion to and detailed mythology about Mary), she shares in the work of Redemption, and may even represent the divine Feminine.

For others, Mary was a European looking figure stitched on banners of armies coming to conquer peoples of the Americas. For them, Mary is not so much divine figure as a symbol of colonialism, European imperialism, and the decimation of native cultures.

For some feminists, Mary (as presented by the male dominated hierachy of the Christian Ecclessiastical institutions) represents the silencing and control of women. An instituion that will not ordain women or allow them control over their own bodies or sexuality elevate a woman to almost divine status...a women, just one; and that one woman is a perpetual virgin who said "yes" to her impregnation that had already happened without her consent. The one woman worthy of adoration in the misogynistic church tradition is a woman who does as she is told and never has sexual urges, feelings, or needs. That, they argue, is not a realistic picture of flesh and blood women nor is it an empowering image for women.

For most Protestants, Mary is simply a rural peasant girl who had a baby who grew up to be a remarkable person, a teacher and healer, and lasting figure on the human imagination for millennia. Even if they have a high Christology (belief in Jesus as a redeemer of the world and somehow uniquely God-filled), they usually do not have a similarly high Mariology.

But then Dr Doreen Virtue puts a New Age spin on the "Beloved Mother." She suggests that Mary might have taken baby Jesus to live among the Essenes for a while where they both learned mysticism. She sees Mary as a nurturing, protecting figure for children. She believes those who claim to have vision sof Mary are experiencing something truly supernatural reminding us that miracles are possible. And she says that she personally asks the Blessed Lady for help from time to time.

Whatever we believe about Mary, it might be useful to look at the various ideas about her and let those ideas fire up our imaginations and help seek a more mature, life-giving faith, regardless of what part Mary may play in that.

On this feast of the Assumption, let's not make the assumption that there aren't new ways to look at it :-)

HAPPY FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION.

Friday, September 21, 2012

More Than One Way to be Religious

More Than One Way to be Religious

WRITTEN BY REV. DR. DURRELL WATKINS

“Prophet” Cindy Jacobs recently declared that weather hazards and ecological problems are the result of divine wrath in response to presidential decisions. And without offering specifics, she prognosticated that more calamities are on the way. Of course, it’s a safe bet that something unhappy will happen somewhere. It doesn’t take a great psychic gift to make that guess!

Before this embarrassing statement suggesting that weather is caused by the gods and “bad” weather is the result of divine displeasure I had never heard of Ms. Jacobs, but I’ve heard her kind of blame, shame, and scare theology all too often.

I spend my life building religious community. I offer a message of hope and healing to help people navigate the chances and challenges of life. I try to affirm the sacred value of all people. I work to get people to stand up and speak out for peace, diversity, equality, and justice. That is, in my view, is religion's high purpose.

Religion gives us language and space to celebrate joys, face difficulties, and form human bonds that prove to be the cure for loneliness. Religion is not meant to increase our fears, strengthen our prejudices, or give us enemies to blame for the uncertainties of life.

Hurricanes, earthquakes, heat-waves, blizzards, and even terrorist attacks have all been blamed on liberals, pro-choice politicians, same-gender loving people, and whoever else rightwing extremists might name as the reason for misfortune that they insist is Heaven sent.

I remember at the beginning of the AIDS crisis some preachers claiming that the disease was God’s punishment against people who Christian fundamentalists found to be unworthy of respect or even tolerance. Almost as reprehensibly, many other clergy remained silent as people continued to suffer and die from the then little understood but clearly devastating disease.

I don’t know why anyone would choose to embrace an understanding of spirituality that suggests a deity will send disease or any disaster. Such petty instance that everything unpleasant is proof that a supreme being hates all the people they hate makes religion seem irrelevant and oppressive; it also makes representatives of religion seem more committed to hatred and bigotry than to enlightenment and progress.

As a representative of religion (progressive religion, but religion nevertheless), I very much resent that religion is so often misused and I wish to offer a better, kinder, more reasonable, and more useful understanding of faith.

It is the worst sort of opportunism to use tragedies as a means of promoting hatred and intolerance. The appropriate response to tragedy is compassion, not blame. The best use of religion in times of trouble is to offer comfort, not condemnation. And if we listen to the “better angels of our nature” we will affirm human dignity in the face of chaos rather than using chaos as a weapon to further dehumanize those we may not understand or like.

We are each entitled to our own understanding of the Sacred, of course. But I, as a religious person, will have no deity that would not bless same-gender love, that would send storms to punish many just to torment a few, or that would send rather than heal disease.

But thankfully, there are other understandings of the ultimate reality that many of us call “God.” Some of us believe, teach, and experience the divine as a comforting presence, an urge to do good, the capacity to love, forgive, and share, and a deep desire to bring peace, hope, and healing to all people.

We are each entitled to our own understandings, but I for one will always choose those that build up rather than tear down, that heal rather than hurt, and that affirm diversity rather than demand division. I just wanted another religious voice to be heard today.

Durrell Watkins holds sociology and theatre degrees from Henderson State University and Goddard College, respectively, as well as a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Episcopal Divinity School. He is the author of Wrestling with God without Getting Pinned: Old Stories, New Thoughts, & Progressive Spirituality (Outskirts Press, available at Amazon.com), and is the Senior Pastor of the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale (www.sunshinecathedral.org).

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Three Spiritual Principles

‎"My only religion is Compassion. My only god is Love. My spiritual path is the path of service; and because of these three principles, I celebrate the diverse expressions of that Love in the many traditions of the world." Dharmacharya Gududas Sunyatananda

A Prayer by Yogananda

"[God], let me feel that I am thy child. Save me from beggary! Let all good things, including health, prosperity, and wisdom seek me instead of my pursuing them." Paramahansa Yogananda

Thursday, May 26, 2011

A Review of a Progressive Christian Easter Service

BUNNIES, BONNETS AND BOUNTY ON AN EASTER MORNING
by Elayne Clift
{written for the Keene (NH) Sentinel}

As a Jew, I'm not accustomed to attending church. (A secular Jew, I don't even go to synagogue very often.) Most of my experience with churches has occurred in relation to weddings, funerals, and Christmas Eve caroling. But a recent experience bears sharing not only because it was unique and wonderful, but because it just might give us all something to think about in a time of growing polemics, political extremism and murky church-state relations.

In Florida over Easter, my (Christian) husband and I attended services with our son who goes to the "Sunshine Cathedral" in Fort Lauderdale. My husband, who had attended services there before, told me it was a special place of worship but I had to experience it to really see what he was talking about. I got it the minute the service began. My first clue was that the second service of the day was packed with people who were all smiling and greeting each other. They ranged from aging bikers of the Harley-Davidson variety to a Caribbean family with two little girls decked out in white dresses and Mary Jane shoes; from gay and lesbian couples in shorts and T-shirts to proverbial "little old ladies" in flowered dresses.

My second clue was that the two lead ministers, both men, approached the front of the sanctuary wearing ab-fab Easter bonnets while the ushers sported bunny ears. The choirmaster, a woman, wore a long white backless gown such as you might see at a prom. Clearly, this church had a sense of humor and loved a good party!

And yet the service, the music, the homily were so moving and so meaningful that I could barely get through it without sobbing.

Sunshine Cathedral is a Metropolitan Community Church (MCC). Part of an international movement now active in nearly two dozen countries, it was founded in California in 1968 by Troy Perry, a Pentecostal minister who was defrocked because he was gay. Its core values are inclusion, community, spiritual transformation, and social action. Each of those values was clear and present in the Easter service, not only in how the minister interpreted the Easter story but in how he asked his congregants to "apply what you believe to your own personal resurrection." It was clear in his message to "go forward rather than dwelling in the past," and in his reminder that Sunshine Cathedral focuses on the "progressive, the positive, and the practical." It was present in his emphasis on the universality of "hope, acceptance, joy, and possibility."

With music ranging from jazz and gospel to Beethoven's "Hallelujah," inspirational quotations from sources as varied as the Bengali poet Tagore to Winston Churchill, spiritual heroes that include Catherine of Sienna and Oskar Schindler, large-screen visuals of seascapes or clips from Walt Disney's animated film "Cinderella", and the closing admonition, "[Our worship has] ended; Let our service begin," this is a church like no other, it seems to me. Irreverently reverent, humorously relevant, wonderfully welcoming, it manages to be magically meaningful in very mixed up and troubling times.

In a way, it explains why many Jews have chosen to identify with Universalist Unitarians ("UUs") because of their emphasis on social activism, their genuine inclusivity, and their message of hope and humanity. Others are working toward "Jewish Renewal", an attempt to make Judaism more meaningful and socially conscious in a 21st century world.

Whatever one's religious affiliation, what was clear to me on an Easter morning in the Sunshine Cathedral, where the word "sin" was never uttered, is that despite our various diversities, the universe is full of people striving to find their place in the world - on common ground -- without judgment, and free of simplistic polemics, meaningless rituals, and "thou shalt nots."

To that end, I am glad to have stood among bunnies and bonnets, listening to Beethoven, hoping for, and believing in, a better, more generous and genuine world.

# # #

Elayne Clift writes about politics, social issues, and contemporary life from Saxtons River, Vt. (www.elayneclift.com)

Monday, May 02, 2011

Progressive Religious Discussions

What Does It Mean to be Christian?
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#p/u/0/SCwEY8yDnBY

Could We Ever Be Lost?
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#p/u/1/WaJa5IEM0dU

Gay Friendly Jesus
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#p/u/6/LUAew9zwW_c

Letting God Be Bigger Than Our Prejudices
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#p/u/8/yXY0HEaaJag

Monday, January 31, 2011

Progressive Religious Resources: Discussion Topics

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

First Principle of Progressive Christianity - We Are Followers of Jesus

Lenten Online Series
by Pastor Durrell Watkins
February 17, 2010

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

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

First Principle of Progressive Christianity
We Are Followers of Jesus.
We have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus.

The Church has so successfully made Jesus into a sacred symbol, it has often failed to adequately challenge its membership to follow Jesus' example. Instead of being legalistic in Jesus' name, we ought to recall how Jesus challenged religious legalism and affirmed those who legalism had excluded. Instead of taking the easy road of merely praising Jesus, we ought to follow his example of touching the untouchables, loving the unlovable, seeing the light of God in all people. We honor Jesus best not by what we say about him, but by following his example of working for justice, showing compassion, and being the love of God in action in our world. As progressive Christians we have found the life and teachings of Jesus to be the way of giving body to the presence of divine Love in our world.

Prayer Treatment: I am embracing and expressing the goodness of God as I follow Jesus' message and example. Amen.

In addition to enjoying this series, we invite you to attend worship weekly (and remember you can also have an evening worship experience at our Sunday at 6 service), to pray daily with Sunshine Cathedral's Spirit & Truth devotional publication, and to consider taking one or more of our four Religious Education classes during Lent (Remedial Christianity [$25], Monday nights, beginning Feb. 22; The Bible & Homosexuality [$25], Tuesday nights, beginning Feb. 23; Discover Who You Are [FREE], Wednesday nights, beginning Feb. 24; and Spanish for Cruisers [$25], Thursday nights, beginning Feb. 25).

Join us at 7:30 pm at Sunshine Cathedral for our Ash Wednesday service

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Eid Isn't Xmas, and "The Stamp" Isn't New

I keep getting these emails by people who are horrified about an Islamic Christmas stamp (as if)...the stamp in question is already 8 years old and has nothing to do with Christmas (its for Eid, at teh end of Ramadan). It was not ordered by Pres. Obama (as the uninformed claim) but by the USPS EIGHT years ago. Fear and hatred of the Other is bad enough, but circulating misinformation to promote one's prejudices really is unacceptable. I guess we're all entitled to our hatred, but let's at least know the facts we are using to justify the hatred...or, we could buy what Jesus was selling and try to forgive our enemies and love our neighbors. Now there's a thought...

http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp

Sunday, May 27, 2007

My Liberal Religious Ministry

I was ordained in 1997. I worked full-time at a large church as a student intern for three years before that. I promised myself that I would always respect congregants enough to share with them whatever I knew. Theological, biblical, or religious scholarship would never be a professional secret that I would keep. Whatever would enrich, challenge, or broaden my faith I would offer to others. They wouldn't need to accept my views uncritically nor would they need to adopt my opinions whole-heartedly, but I would offer them my honest thoughts and the best scholarship as I understood it. What they would do with my gifts would be up to them, but I would never assume that they were incapable of "handling" the information I had to share.

Fourteen years later I continue to share honestly with the congregation I serve. My views continue to evolve, but I share the reality of my faith as it is in the moment hoping that such a witness will encourage others to ask their own questions, discover their own truths, and share their own insights and experiences. I'm not very interested in doctrinal certainty or dogmatic conformity but rather an honest and reasonable faith that has room for doubt, that allows for change, and that assumes the sacred value of all people.

I have no notion that my belief or anyone else's will provide the assurance of eternal security. On the contrary, I assume the life-force is forever. Religion should improve this life, not promise another one. Life continues beyond this experience or it doesn't. Either way, religion isn't a guarantee that some will exist in a post-mortem paradise while others will be excluded from that paradise. Instead, for me, religion is an opportunity to form community, to ask questions, to search for meaning, and to find hope in life. If it accomplishes those lofty goals, it has proven itself valuable in our world.

Somehow, my approach to religion is often viewed as seditious, outrageous, even heretical. This always surprises me. And yet, my integrity demands that I share honestly. My optimism leads me to believe that such radical honesty helps at least some people.

So, I continue to offer a pluralistic and progressive approach to religion. I hope that the gifts that I offer are finding happy homes and that they are contributing to a better world. I will at least keep trying.

Kweerspirit