Why Religion in the 21st Century?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBSMouLJGs8&list=UUi1vfps751gSRdDZIIzhkvw&index=2&feature=plcp

Discussion on the purpose and relevance of religion today.

5 Anti-Gay Marriage Arguments Challenged

http://www.gaysofla.com/articles/72-kweerspirit/252-five-ridiculous-anti-gay-marriage-arguments-challenged-.html

My most recent piece posted at GaySoFla.com.

"Five Ridiculous Anti-Gay Marriage Arguments Challenged"

Just do right (from "Spirit & Truth")

Just do right
Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone but will have lived a noble live that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.” Marcus Aurelius

It’s so simple and so obvious: Just do right. If there is a Higher Power that is good, it will respond to and reward goodness. If there is such a Power and it isn't good, then it doesn't deserve to be worshiped (and should even be resisted!). And if there is no such Power, then having lived a good life means life was lived well and will be remembered fondly by our loved ones. In every scenario, the point remains the same...just do right!

Not for reward, not for fear of punishment, not to win favor or to avoid cosmic wrath, but simply for righteousness’ sake, I choose to live with compassion, integrity, honesty, and generosity. Amen.

Goddard College: An Impressive History and Relevant Still

Goddard College has a century and a half institutional history as a leader in the progressive education movement.

Founded in 1863 as Green Mountain Central Institute in Barre, VT, the school changed its name in 1870 to Goddard Seminary, a theological preparatory school in the Universalist tradition. The school especially prepared students to attend Tufts College, a school originally affiliated with the Universalist Church. Goddard was named for Thomas Goddard, Tufts 2^nd Treasurer.

In 1919 Royce (aka Tim) Pitkin was graduated from Goddard Seminary and would later return to Goddard as its primary visionary and philosophical architect. After graduating from Goddard Seminary Pitkin went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont and a PhD from Columbia University. He was a contemporary of progressive education pioneers John Dewey and William Kilpatrick. Under his leadership, Goddard College would be guided by philosophies influenced by Dewey and Kilpatrick as well as by religious Universalism, the Danish Folk School, and the democratic principles exhibited by New England Town Meetings.

In 1929 the Goddard School for Girls was established and in 1935 Tim Pitkin returned to Goddard to organize Goddard Junior College as part of the Seminary. In 1937 Goddard Seminary was closed but Goddard was immediately resurrected as Goddard College, chartered in 1938. Also in 1938 Goddard relocated from Barre to Plainfield, VT, moving to the Greatwood Farm Estate. Pitkin was the reformed, relocated and renamed College’s first president. Tim Pitkin served as the college president from 1938 to 1969. He died in 1986. Since 1938, the school has been in continuous operation as Goddard College.

From 1938 to 1940 Goddard operated as a four year Junior College, that is, students attended the last two years of high school and the first two years of college. Goddard became a Baccalaureate degree granting school in 1943.

In 1952 Goddard started a summer work camp for urban youth to help rural farmers and also in 1952 Goddard awarded its first masters’ degrees.

In 1956 Goddard started the Educational Resources Project and its students would work as Teaching Assistants in nearby schools.

In 1959 Goddard received regional accreditation. Having never been a rich school and offering a progressive pedagogy that “traditional” schools didn’t understand, Goddard had been denied accreditation since the 40s. But in 1959 the college was unexpectedly given the New England Association of Schools and Colleges’ stamp of approval, and enrollment almost doubled immediately as a result.

In 1963 Goddard College initiated the Adult Degree Program – the first college in the US to do so.

In 1964 Goddard participated in another ground breaking experiment that would prove to be successful for decades to come. In 1964 a consortium of colleges was formed called the Union for Research and Experimentation in Higher Education. 10 colleges made up this “Union” and along with Antioch College, Sarah Lawrence College, Bard College, and Hofstra University, Goddard was a founding member of the consortium.  In 1969 the consortium changed its name to the Union for Experimental Colleges and Universities. It would go through a few more name changes, including The Union Graduate School, The Union Institute, and Union Institute & University as it is known today. But before UIU was a well-known, independent school of higher learning, it was a consortium of progressive colleges and Goddard was among them.

In 1966 Beat poet Allen Ginsberg performed at Goddard; in 1969 the Third World Studies Program was initiated and was in operation for 5 years, and the early 1970s saw more excitement for Goddard College.

In the 1970 the Goddard-Cambridge Program in Social Change was born and that program was in existence for 9 years. Also in 1970 a Design and Construction program was initiated, an alternative media conference was held where New Age spiritual leader Ram Dass offered a workshop, and from 1970 to 1974 the incredible Bread and Puppet Theatre was in residence at Goddard College!

In 1973 Goddard launched its own radio station (WGDR), in 1974 the Institute of Social Ecology was founded and would remain part of Goddard until the year 2000 when it became an independent institution, and in 1975 more new programs were launched – Integral Education, Inter-dimensions in the Visual Arts, Outdoor Education, and Women’s Studies.

In 1986 a single parents’ program was offered and in 1988 restoration of Goddard’s historic gardens began. 11 years later, The Greenwood Estate and Gardens, the Goddard College campus, was entered in the National Register of Historic Places.

Goddard had more innovations to offer the world of education. In 2002 the residential undergraduate program was closed and Goddard became an entirely low-residency college.

In 2012, with sites now in Washington state as well as in Vermont, Goddard remains an accredited institution of higher learning with its highest enrollment in 30 years!

Goddard, in all its incarnations, has always been a progressive and innovative school, and by the 1970s it was well known as a radical, counter-cultural college. When it was redesigned as Goddard College in 1938 it was unusual in that it offered no grades, gave no exams, and had no required courses. To this day Goddard offers a self-directed learning experience, faculty members are called co-learners or advisors rather than professors, grades are not given and unless other arrangements are made, transcripts are narrative evaluations rather than a dry and largely uninformative list of courses taken and grades given.

The Goddard philosophy early on was based on 4 educational principles:
Thought should be tested by action
We only learn what we can inwardly accept
One matures by carrying responsibilities suited to one’s capabilities
And College should provide education opportunities for adults because learning should continue throughout life.

The undergraduate degrees that Goddard offers today are:
The BA in Education, the BA in Health Arts & Sciences, the BA in Sustainability, the BA in Individualized Studies, and the BFA in Creative Writing.

Graduate degrees offered are:
The MA in Education (there is a licensure option as well as possible concentrations in School Counseling or Community Education), the MA in Health Arts & Sciences, the MA in Psychology (with an option of concentrating in Sexual Orientation), the MA in Sustainable Business & Communities, and the MA in Individualized Studies with possible concentrations in Transformative Language Arts, Consciousness Studies, or Environmental Studies. There are also two MFA programs, one in Creative Writing and one in Interdisciplinary Arts.

There are many notable graduates of Goddard College, including:

Frances Olsen, Law Professor (UCLA)
Page McConnell, Trey Anastasio, & Jon Fishman of the Band PHISH
Howard Ashman, actor/playwright/lyricist (Little Shop of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast)
Jay Craven, film director/screenwriter)
Tom Griffin, playwright (Boys Next Door)
Larry Feign, cartoonist (The World of Lily Wong)
Caroline Finkelstein, poet
Ann Gillespie, actor (Beverly Hills 90210)
Neil Landau, screenwriter/playwright/TV producer
Cara Hoffman, novelist (So Much Pretty)
William H. Macy, actor
David Mamet, playwright/direct, Pulitzer Prize winner

For 149 years Goddard has been trailblazing and challenging the status quo. People have literally come to Goddard to study from all over the world. If you want a challenging, non-traditional, stimulating, limited residency degree program that honors your vision while guiding you through academic theory, interdisciplinarity, and ethical practice, with financial aid available and without requiring you to quit your job or leave your community for more than a few days a year, then Goddard may be a dream come true.


The program isn't correspondence, it isn't online, it isn't modular...it's something else, something different, something more.


Whether you want to complete a Bachelor’s degree, earn a Master’s degree, or return to school for a second or third graduate level degree, Goddard College is worth your consideration. Learn more by visiting their website: www.goddard.edu.



Information gathered from displays and literature at the Pratt Library at Goddard College as well as from the Goddard College website and other online sources.

Prayer for Aurora

By now we all know about the tragedy in Aurora, CO that took place on July 20th when an armed person walked into a movie theater and opened fire on the unsuspecting audience, killing and wounding dozens. http://www.washingtonpost.com/colorado-shooter-identified-as-james-holmes-24/2012/07/20/gJQAWkdrxW_story.html?hpid=z1 When the unexplainable happens, we are tempted to ask why, but there is no reason that could satisfy. We can only acknowledge our shock, our horror, our sadness, our compassion, and our hope (even when that hope seems too thin to name). There are no magic words that will bring the dead back to life. There is no ritual that will miraculously mend the broken hearts of those who are grieving the loss of loved ones. Even as wounded bodies heal, we know the psychic wounds may linger much longer. And while the assailant will undoubtedly face a system of justice, no amount of punishment, rehabilitation, sorrow, or regret will undo the harm that was unleashed by his actions. And still, as powerless and overwhelmed as the situation may leave us feeling, and as senseless as the violence seems to be to us, human decency and goodness demand of us an expression of concern, despair, and deeply held wishes for healing for the people of Aurora, CO. And so, once again, we turn to the practice of prayer for the comfort and strength it can provide. Let us pray: Spirit of life, the tears and moans of the grieving people of Aurora must reverberate throughout the universe, touching and moving the very heart of the one Presence in which we live and move and have our being. We can't know what brokenness led to the horrific events of that tragic day. Nor can we know how or when healing, peace, and joy will return to the community that has been so badly shaken. But we do know that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. The night may be long, but it must eventually give way to a new day. We give thanks that anguish is not everlasting. We are thankful that the human spirit is resilient and that Life, in spite of chaos, is always seeking to express Itself in marvelous ways. And so, unnamable Mystery upon which we depend but that can never be fully known, we ask you to move gently among the people of Aurora to begin the healing process that will lead them to one day embrace the possibilities of life again and to claim that peace that passes understanding and joy unspeakable; for goodness' sake. Amen. In the shared human experience, Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins Senior Minister Sunshine Cathedral

Sunday Worship: 9 am & 10:30 am "I see no evil; I behold only the good. I have seen the drunkard lying in the gutter, and the saint kneeling in ecstasy before the high altar of his faith; but I have found no difference. I have perceived that each, in his own tongue, is seeking to express the One Life. I will not separate and divide; I cannot condemn nor censure, for I know that there is but One in All. I know that all came from the One, and all will return to the One. I know that all are now in the One, and that each is seeking to express the One. I know and Love all!" Ernest Holmes

the gay struggle continues

The Gay Struggle Continues

Kweerspirit: Progressive Spirituality  by Durrell Watkins for the online magazine, www.gaysofla.com:   http://gaysofla.com/articles/72-kweerspirit/249-the-gay-struggle-continues.html

There’s a real struggle going on in our society right now. I’m not referring to the economy, or the presidential campaigns, or matters of procreative freedom, or to the ubiquitous and seemingly endless debates about health care and taxes. Those struggles exist obviously, but added to the list of social tug of war bouts is a simple matter: same-gender love and attraction. Now when I say same-gender love and attraction, I’m not talking about same-sex marriage (which is another contentious grappling match that has yet to see its last round) nor am I talking about the various scientific and social scientific hypotheses and theories that attempt to explain homosexuality. I’m not even referring to the question of whether same-gender love and attraction is in any way disordered…on that matter, the jury has decided! From the Kinsey reports in the 1940s and 1950s, to Dr. Evelyn Hooker’s research in the 1950s, to the American Psychiatric Association removing homosexuality from its list of disorders in 1973 to the American Psychological Association taking similar action in 1975, to the American Counseling Association and National Association of Social Workers doing the same, to the World Health Organization removing homosexuality from its list of disorders in 1993, that issue has been well decided. In fact, all major mental health organizations in the US (and many throughout the world) have gone on record to affirm that homosexuality is not a mental illness and that gay and lesbian persons are no more likely to have mental disorders than their heterosexual counter-parts! No, when I mention the “struggle” over the issue of same-gender love and attraction, I am, sadly, referring to religion (I say “sadly” because, well, I’m a religion guy). The Metropolitan Community Church movement was started in the late 1960s by a gay rights leader (Troy Perry) to provide a safe and affirming worshiping community for lesbian and gay people and their allies. Since then, one bible scholar after another, one theologian after another, even one denomination after another has come to affirm the sacred value of same-gender loving people and to recognize the holiness of loved shared between persons regardless of gender identity. And yet, in spite of the best science, the best social science, and the best theological scholarship all affirming the legitimacy of same-gender love and attraction, there continues to be increasingly vocal preachers of pugnacious rhetoric vilifying LBGT people; and politicians continue to use gay rights (or rather, the denial thereof) as a political issue and entire communities continue to speak out and vote against their LBGT neighbors, usually using religion as the excuse for their prejudice. Like I said, it is sad. Religion, at its best, isn’t about teaching people who to hate or fear. Religion, at its best, isn’t meant to promote discrimination and inequality. Religion, at its best, isn’t supposed to disguise prejudices as values or bigotry as righteousness. I also don’t believe religion’s purpose is to help people know “God.” We each in our own way experience the Sacred and most of us will seek a spiritual life whether within or apart from religious communities. Whatever else God may be, It/She/He must be everywhere fully present, all-inclusive, and much more inclined to nudge the human family toward peace, health, joy, and love than toward shame, fear, acrimony, and hate. We will each find whatever we choose to call divine in our own way, with or without religion. No, religion’s highest purpose is to bring people together, to form positive, benevolent communities, to help people believe in and live into their great potential, and to guide people to discover and share joy. My guess is that the struggle will continue. There will be churches and church leaders who continue to demonize and dehumanize same-gender loving people. And they will insist that such nefarious, spiritual brutality is somehow in compliance with a divine calling. Such was the case when Galileo declared a heliocentric rather than geocentric universe; such was the case when women were kept from pulpits and voting booths; such was the case in every war waged in the name of religion; and such was the case not too long ago when even racism was preached as righteousness. Why would the road to LBGT liberation be any easier? But, as history has shown time and again, codified bigotry has a shelf-life and cannot endure forever. The struggle may continue for a while, but in the mean time, there are those of us, even those of us who call ourselves religious, who are committed to celebrating the sacred value of ALL people and the holiness of all mutually shared love.  Durrell Watkins holds sociology and theatre degrees from Henderson State University and Goddard College, respectively, as well as a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Episcopal Divinity School. He is the author of Wrestling with God without Getting Pinned: Old Stories, New Thoughts, & Progressive Spirituality (Outskirts Press, available at Amazon.com), and is the Senior Pastor of the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale (www.sunshinecathedral.org).

i love my queer life

When I think of all the ridiculous homophobic hate speech presented as theology (and yes, as much as those of us who live in progressive pockets like to live in denial, it still happens every day), then think of my life, my chosen family, and the person I love who brings me so much joy, I'm glad I don't feel the need to choose between spirituality and being honest about who I am; but if I had to choose, I'd choose my life as it has unfolded. I wouldn't sacrifice one minute of this life for any imagined afterlife, and I certainly would never worship any deity that couldn't see the beauty of the love in my life.