Kweerspirit

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

A New Thought

Spirit & Truth
Today is Wednesday, May 5, 2010.

A New Thought
“...your mind is a center of divine operation.” Genevieve Behrend

So much of religious thinking seems to promote a sense of victimization. People are taught to believe they are innately sinful and can only be “saved” by believing that God required a violent, atoning sacrifice (which only seems to work if people believe the story). What if instead of being innately sinful, the truth is we are innately good? What if there is nothing to be saved from other than our own fears? What if God is as close as our breath and by focusing on God’s goodness expressing through us we find we are actually persons of great potential, dignity, and power? Maybe we can change how we understand religion and thereby change how we understand ourselves!

God’s goodness is my Truth. God’s unconditional love is my experience. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, Sunshine Cathedral

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Power of Clear Intention

Healing Rays: A Progressive, Positive, Practical Weekly Reflection

by Durrell Watkins May 3, 2010

The Power of Clear Intention
Clear intention works. When I get really clear in my mind about something, it's like I'm saying to the Universe, "Let's do this!" And things begin to happen.

One New Year's Eve I wrote goals for the New Year. One of my goals was to write a book. The book didn't happen that year, but in years since, I have written one-act plays, vignettes, three graduate theses, and six books. I love writing, and now I write all the time. But it all began with the clear intention, "I want to accomplish X."

Once I was clear about wanting to be ordained, the path to ordination unfolded. Once I was clear about wanting a Master's degree, I found myself in graduate school, and actually earned both a Masters of Arts degree and a Master of Divinity degree. I said out loud once that I wanted a doctorate degree by a certain age, and within two years of that stated goal, I had my doctorate.

For years I imagined living in New York City, and in my 30s, I did in fact live for almost 5 years in the New York metropolitan area (including 3 years in Manhattan itself). I always wanted to travel, but finally decided to do so. I have now been to 12 countries so far. I even attribute the power of intention to finding the person with whom I now share my life. There are some goals still in the works, and there are new goals to be formed. There are even previous goals that turned out to be little more than wishes, and they did not turn out as well (it would seem a committed goal is far more powerful than a mere wish). Lesson learned.

Your goals are as achievable as mine. Maybe instead of degrees, you want a career that makes a lot of money (why didn't that ever occur to me?!). Maybe instead of living in a particular city, you want to stop smoking. Maybe travel doesn't appeal to you, but learning to play an instrument does. Whatever your goal, once your intention is clear, opportunities begin to show up in support of your goal.

Do you have a worthwhile goal? Write it down. Speak it in prayer. Affirm that it is possible. Once you set those powerful forces in motion, something good is bound to happen.

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Watch "Do Progressive Christians Believe in Jesus?" on Sharing the Light, Sunshine Cathedral's Webcast Talk Show.
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Wrestlin

g With God Without Getting Pinned is an honest struggle to apply critical thinking and practical reason to the myths and metaphors of ancient scriptures. The author believes that creative writing can be true (and in fact can offer new truths as each reader approaches a text) without being factual. Wrestling With God...is an affirmation of truth that does not demand the literary symbols of scripture be taken literally. Rather than asking religion to redeem people, the writer is asking thinking people to redeem religion so that it can be relevant in the 21st century.

Available at Amazon.com

Monday, May 03, 2010

Sharing the Light: Progressive, Religious Webcast

Sharing the Light
Watch these episodes (and others) of Sharing the Light on the Sunshine Cathedral You Tube channel. Sharing the Light is a 10 minute talk show where spiritual, theological, ethical, and social issues are discussed by Sunshine Cathedral ministers.

http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#p/u/9/L5DjW2NhS9U

Where Do We Go When We Die?

http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#p/u/13/3MHEolRsbWQ

What Does Atonement Mean for Us?
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#p/u/23/o1jN3GGVS3I

Why Healthy Religion Must Confront Heterosexism?
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#p/u/48/J3nhm7sr6HY

Is the Bible the Word of God?
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#p/u/57/RZEe0o2q4_E

Friday, April 30, 2010

Everlasting Omnipresence

Spirit & Truth

Everlasting Omnipresence
“You are connected to all that came before you and all that follows. Your essence is timeless.” Rev. Ian Lawton

Divine Life is omnipresent. It expressed in, through, and as Jesus and it is expressing in, through, and as us. Divine Life is always expressing, always shining, always unfolding. The divinity that Moses experienced, that Ezekiel experienced, that Mary experienced, that Paul experienced is the same divine Presence that enfolds, surrounds, and dwells within us. The spirit of life is endless, ubiquitous, and it is flowing through each of us now. Because the spirit is eternal, so are we!

The Source and Substance of all life is eternal and omnipresent. It is expressing through and as me and so I am one with all life, now and forever.
Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, Sunshine Cathedral

Spirit & Truth is a daily devotional magazine published by Sunshine Cathedral's Light University Press

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

We Are Creators

Spirit & Truth
{Spirit & Truth is a daily devotional magazine}

We Are Creators
“Knowing God comes through knowing ourselves.” Rev. Mary Mitchell

“In the beginning God created…” That’s how one of the two creation myths at the beginning of Genesis begins. Intuitively, the ancient story-teller knew that there must be a creative Intelligence behind the world of form and experience. In the beginning of creation, Something must be guiding the creative process. In the beginning of our endeavors there is a thought, a feeling, an idea, a desire that then is out-pictured as achievement, creativity, relationships, etc. When I remember that “I am the thinker who thinks the thought that creates the thing,” then I know myself to be a person of power, and I am responsible for how I use that power in my life.
We are always creating, and we get to choose how we use our creative energies.

With my words, thoughts, emotions, and intentions I am creating my world. As I realize my power and potential, I create wisely and wonderfully. And so it is.
Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, Sunshine Cathedral

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Our Pulpit

I'm so proud that at Sunshine Cathedral we have world class scholars, theologians, activists, and orators bless us with their wisdom from our pulpit.

Since I have been Senior Pastor at Sunshine Cathedral we have on Sunday mornings:
Rev. Elder Lillie Brock (twice), MCC's Elder for Region 7
Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson (annually), MCC's Presiding Elder & Moderator
Rev. Dr. Mona West (repeatedly), Hebrew Bible Scholar & MCC's Director of Leadership Development
Rev. Elder Troy Perry, MCC's Founder
Very Rev. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, President & Dean of Episcopal Divinity School
Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney, Asso. Professor of Hebrew Bible at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia
AND
Rt. Rev. Barbara Harris, retired Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts (Bishop Harris was first woman bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion...she is speaking at Sunshine Cathedral on April 25th, 2010).

On Sunday evenings we've had:
Rev. BK Hipsher
Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney
Rev. Delores Berry, beloved singing evangelist

For our 2010 "Redeeming Jesus" Conference we had the following speakers:
Rev. Dr. Mona West
Rev. BK Hipsher
Ms. Celene Lillie, PhD student in New Testament at Union Theological Seminary in NYC
Rev. Dr. Tom Bohache, MCC Christ the Liberator (Centeral New Jersey)
Rev. Gay Lynne Williamson-Grigas
As well as Cathedral clergy, Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, Rev. Robert Griffin, & Rev. Michael Diaz

A special evening seminar was conducted in March, 2010 by Aramaic Bible Scholar, Rev. Dr. Rocco Errico

What a joy to have some of the best theological minds of our time share with us at Sunshine Cathedral. There are more world class speakers coming in the near future.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Spiritual Lineage

My spiritual lineage...what mixed heritage!

New Thought Lineage:

Ralph Waldo Emerson (Unitarian, Transcendentalist...many of his spiritual ideas have been embraced by the New Thought movement)

Phineas P. Quimby (Mesmerism, spiritual healer, considered by many to be the "Father" of the New Thought Movement)

Mary Baker Eddy (Quimby's patient, founder of Christian Science)

Emma Curtis Hopkins (student/colleague of Mary Baker Eddy's who left Christian Science
to begin her own independent ministry...she taught many people who became the leaders of
the New Thought Movement, e.g. "Mrs. Bingham" who taught Nona Brooks, Ernest Holmes, Malinda Cramer, Annie Rix Militz, the Fillmores, etc....Hopkins ordained Malinda Cramer and Unity founders Charles & Myrtle Fillmore)

Malinda Cramer (Quaker, E. C. Hopkins' student, founder of Divine Science)

Nona Brooks (student of one of E. C. Hopkins' students, ordained by Cramer, Brooks
ordained Religious Science/Science of Mind founder Ernest Holmes)

Christopher Bazemore (former Roman Catholic, studied Christian Science & Science of Mind, ordained Church of Brotherhood, ordained Church of the Holy Spirit/Rose Cross, finally ordained Divine Science. Dean of United Divine Science Ministerial School)

Durrell Watkins (confirmed Episcopal, ordained Metropolitan Community Churches, certified Reiki Master, studying for ordination in United Divine Science)
New Thought Education: A Course in Miracles and Spiritual Direction (Kay Hunter, Cathedral of Light, Carrollton, TX), Science of Mind 101 (Center for Spiritual Living, Fort Lauderdale, FL), Certificate of Achievement & Fellowship (College of Divine Metaphysics), studies for Divine Science ordination (United Divine Science Ministerial School with Dr. Christopher Bazemore)
Member: International New Thought Alliance

Reiki Lineage:
Mikao Usui (founder of the non-invasive energy healing technique called Reiki, which is Universal Life-force Energy)

Nancy Langmead (minister, teacher, and Reiki Master-Teacher attuned me to the Reiki Master level)
Studies for Reiki attunement and certification: Hagerstown Community College

Christian Lineage:
My family was a mixture of Protestants, Evangelicals, and Roman Catholics.
I was baptized in the evangelical tradition, but studied Catholicism and came to identify with Catholic part of the family.
In college, I became Episcopalian and was confirmed by Bishop Donis Patterson (sponsored by Christianne McKee, the fourth woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Dallas and the first woman in the Dallas to lead her own parish as a Vicar/Rector/Priest-in-charge)
I was then ordained in Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC was founded by former Pentecostal minister Troy Perry; I was approved for ordination at a District Conference and then commissioned and blessed by Nancy Wilson - a former Methodist, Elijah Nealy - formerly Baptist & Salvation Army, & Ken Martin - a former Baptist minister; my actual ordination was performed by Shelly Hamilton - formerly of the Pentecostal tradition).
I was later "incardinated" into Apostolic Succession by Old Catholic Bishop Grant Lynn Ford - a Pentecostal minister turned Old Catholic Abbot/Bishop (Arnold Matthew lineage) who also became an MCC minister and a member of the International New Thought Alliance.
Ministerial Education: study for MCC ordination, Samaritan Institute for Religious Studies; MDiv, Union Theological Seminary; DMin, Episcopal Divinity School
Other education: BA, Henderson State University; MA, Goddard College

Other Traditions:
Studied/practiced at various times - Wicca, Charismatic Christianity, and Buddhism (Zen & Nicherin)