THE SACRED HEART AS A SYMBOL OF QUEER COMFORT

THE SACRED HEART AS A SYMBOL OF QUEER COMFORT

A Durrell Discourse

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?

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.

According to tradition, devotees of the Sacred Heart can expect various blessings and aid throughout life, including inner peace and strong faith.

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.

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.

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.

(Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

Sunshine Cathedral)

Why is 45 Stirring Up “Merry Xmas” BS in October?

If we’re going to be a Xian Theocracy, let’s do it properly. I’m going to insist that ppl wish me a Holy Advent, a Glorious Epiphany, a Meaningful Lent, a Joyful Easter, an Uplifting Ascension, a Powerful Pentecost, and a Righteous Reign of Christ Sunday. If its about “xian values”...Xianity is more than Xmas!

Also, Christmas is Dec 25-Jan 5. It offends Baby Jesus if you wish me a Merry Xmas too early, and it breaks his heavenly heart if you forget to wish me xmas blessings on Dec 26, 27, 28, etc. So, do follow the Christmastide precisely, won’t you?

Onerous? Silly? Fine. Then let’s forget it and let those who wish to do so offer the polite and inclusive “Happy Holidays”...And while we’re at it, let’s NOT be a xian theocracy or any other kind of theocracy...they tend to be oppressive. 

#What45DoesNotKnowAboutReligionIsALot 

#Stick2Presidenting 

#ActuallyUMightWant2StartPresidenting 

New Thought Anglican and More

Intersections: New Thought, Anglicanism, and Other Traditions 

Sunshine Cathedral (Fort Lauderdale) 

By Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

People often refer to Sunshine Cathedral as a hybrid. They will say the message is “therapeutic”, the atmosphere is “loving”, the mission is to facilitate positive change in the world, and the liturgy is “uplifting.” Perhaps those realities are reflected in Sunshine Cathedral’s affirmation: “Sunshine Cathedral is a different kind of church where the past is past and the future has infinite possibilities.”

Some will say Sunshine Cathedral is New Thought Anglican, some will say it’s Science of Mind meets Methodism. Some call it a Positive Thinking church, others High Church Universalist, still others will say it is New Thought with Ritual and evangelical passion. Some will call it Catholic Light and Liberal. One leader in the congregation has said, “If the Episcopal Church and the Unity Church had a baby, it would be the Sunshine Cathedral.” Another lay leader calls SC the “happy Church.”

Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, Pentecostals, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Humanists, 12 Steppers, and even a Wiccan or two have all found a home at Sunshine Cathedral, and people from many traditions have mentioned there is a moment in almost every service that reminds them of their former traditions while offering a new experience as well.

I am the Senior Minister of Sunshine Cathedral and I bring a blended/hybrid background and worldview to my role. A confirmed Episcopalian, certified Reiki Master, and Kriya Yoga initiate with seminary degrees from Protestant seminaries (Union Theological Seminary and the Episcopal Divinity School), I am also ordained in Metropolitan Community Churches (founded by an ex-Pentecostal minister, Troy Perry); I am ordained as an independent/Old Catholic priest (by my SC pastoral predecessor, Pentecostal minister/Old Catholic Bishop/MCCer/New Thoughter Rt. Rev. Grant Lynn Ford), and I am an ordained Divine Science minister (Divine Science, a New Thought philosophy, was founded by Quaker Malinda Cramer and almost simultaneously by Presbyterian Nona Brooks). Between my predecessor (Bishop Ford) and me, Sunshine Cathedral has been led for over 3 decades by Liturgical New Thoughters! No wonder there are so many different experiences of our wonderful Cathedral!

We are a “different kind of church.” Our spirituality is “progressive, positive, and practical.”

It turns out that our New Thought/Anglican/Ecumenical style is not without precedent (though surely our presentation of it is somewhat unique).
*Divine Science minister W. John Murray was a Catholic priest before becoming a Divine Scientist.
*David Alkins was an Episcopal priest who became the dean of Brooks Divinity School (a Divine Science ministerial school).
*F. Bernadette Turner was a psychologist and an Episcopalian who became a Divine Science minister and then later in life was ordained a Deacon and Priest in the Episcopal Church.
*Unity co-founder Myrtle Fillmore had a parent who was Episcopalian.
*Healer Agnes Sanford was the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries who married an Episcopal priest. Her theology, prayer techniques, and healing methods were very compatible with (often indistinguishable from) New Thought; she also experienced glossalia (praying in tongues)...she has been claimed by Protestants, Charismatics, and New Thoughters!
*Divine Scientist Emmet Fox grew up Catholic.
*Jospeh Murphy was a psychologist and a Catholic priest before becoming a Religious Science and a Divine Science minister.
*Mystic Emanuel Swedenborg was a Lutheran whose allegorical interpretation of scripture still influences New Thought Christians.
*Religious Science founder Ernest Holmes was a Congregationalist before studying Christian Science, getting ordained in Divine Science, and starting the Religious Science/Science of Mind movement.
*Fenwicke Holmes (Ernest's brother) was a Congregationalist minister who became a Divine Science minister and was instrumental in the early days of the Seicho-No-ie movement
*Church of Truth founder Albert Grier was a Universalist minister for decades before embracing New Thought.
*Norman Vincent Peale was a Methodist turned Dutch Reformed minister who embraced and taught many of the New Thought principles extolled by Ernest Holmes, Emmet Fox, and the Fillmores.
*Herman A. Spruit was a German born "Old Catholic" with Dutch ancestory. His family became Methodist and he later returned to Old Catholicism, becoming consecrated a bishop in the Liberal (Old) Catholic tradition and starting his own mystical (theosophy influenced) Old Catholic denomination (Apostolic Catholic Church of Antioch...sometimes referred to as New Thought or New Age Catholic).
*Franciscan (Roman Catholic) priest Robert Rohr presents a mystical Christianity that is very compatible with New Thought adherents.
*Episcopal Bishop John Spong for years has been a popular guest of Unity churches.
*Leo Booth is a Unity minister who was previously an Anglican priest.

The openness, the freedom to investigate and experiment, the personal connection to mystery and wonder, the self-empowerment and optimism, and the bonds of a community devoted to both mind and heart, thinking and feeling, liberation and love is what a mixture of the mainline traditions and “new thought” can offer. Indeed, it is what one is likely to find at Sunshine Cathedral.

An article explaining the relatedness of New Thought and Anglican spiritualities was written in 2003 (see below) by Educational Psychologist Deb Whitehouse (who was married to an Academic Philosopher and New Thought practitioner/scholar Alan Anderson). Whitehouse was an Episcopalian who found her way to New Thought. When reading her historical perspective, Sunshine Cathedral will make even more sense to those who call it their spiritual home.

(To read Whitehouse’s article “New Thought and the Anglican Tradition” Click HERE)

My Prayer on this National Day of Prayer

The National Day of Prayer is held annually on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952.

Let us pray for the United States of America:

O God whose kin-dom knows no geographical borders, we affirm today that your benevolent omnipresence enfolds and includes all life. And we take great comfort in that truth today; and comfort is needed.

The politics of self-interest which would deny care to some who need it most frightens us, and so we pray - God have mercy.

The politics of division, where large segments of the human family are dehumanized and demonized, leaves us desperately sad. God have mercy.

The politics of domination makes us anxious and concerned. God have mercy.

Attitudes which seek to exclude people because of who they love, how they identify themselves, how they pray, or where by accident of birth they started life seem to run rampant, and so we pray - God have mercy.

Violence is ever with us. God have mercy.

Mistrust plagues us individually and collectively. God have mercy.

Racism infects our hearts and our institutions. God have mercy.

Xenophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and heterosexism all seem to be experiencing a collective and unholy revival. God have mercy.

Our very earth seems to be at risk, and not only of being harmed, but of having that harm ignored for profit. For our earth, our mother, our home we pray - God have mercy.

Mass incarcerations, the threat of war, illness, poverty…there are so many needs to address. For those trying to address them, please give them wisdom and strength and courage.

We know all nations face times of economic difficulty, or conflict, or vulnerability in the face of natural disasters, and we know that you have blessed the human family with resilience and the grace to hope even in the most dire of circumstances, and so we remember today that whatever frightens us will not last forever, but dignity and grace and the possibility of healing will last. We know that faith, hope, and love all endure, and that the greatest of these gifts is love. Let us today embrace the power of love. Let us love ourselves, and our neighbors, and our enemies, and our country, and our world and may this love bring healing wherever, whenever, and however it is most needed.

On this day of prayer, let us also call to mind people of faith: those who embrace Judaism, those follow the way of Jesus, those whose prophet is Muhammad, those who identify as Sikh, those who seek enlightenment as Buddhists, those who worship as Hindus, those who keep the traditions of the native ancestors of this land alive, those whose faith is in human potential, those who place their faith in science, those who faith is unnamed but no less dear and sustaining to them…may our various faiths bring out the best in us and help us see and honor the best in one another.

God bless this country and help us be kinder, more inclusive, more just, more peace loving, and more willing to assure the well-being of all who call this land their inherited or their chosen home. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen. 

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

Senior Minister

Sunshine Cathedral 

As sent out via Constant Contact

Sunshine Cathedral: More than an MCC

     Sometimes people will refer to Sunshine Cathedral as “MCC” (which stands for Metropolitan Community Church). But Sunshine Cathedral is so much more than a Metropolitan Community Church!

     Sunshine Cathedral is currently affiliated with Metropolitan Community Churches (a denomination founded by and for LBGT people in 1968), and  is also affiliated with the Divine Science Federation International (Divine Science is the oldest of the New Thought schools of thought; New Thought emphasizes the power of positive thinking, the unity of all life, and the omnipresence of God).

     Additionally, Sunshine Cathedral is an affiliate of the Global Justice Institute, an independent ministry housed at MCC New York that focuses on social justice throughout the world. Sunshine Cathedral also participates in the pension plan of the American Baptist Churches USA (which is also used by the International Council of Community Churches), and Sunshine Cathedral is in the process of applying for affiliation with the Progressive Christian Alliance (and other ecumenical organizations). In the past, Sunshine Cathedral has held affiliations with The Center for Progressive Christianity and the International New Thought Alliance.

     Sunshine Cathedral’s staff ministers hold licenses and ordinations from MCC, Interfaith organizations, Divine Science, the Assemblies of God, a Baptist denomination, and Centers for Spiritual Living. The Samaritan Institute at Sunshine Cathedral is the religious education program for the Sunshine Cathedral, the diaconal training school for Sunshine Cathedral members who wish to pursue ministry as a deacon, and it is also a ministerial training school for the Divine Science Federation International!

     Sunshine Cathedral members and friends come from New Thought, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Unitarian Universalist, Jewish, Muslim, and Humanistic traditions. So, while Sunshine Cathedral began as a Metropolitan Community Church, it has become so much more! Please do not refer to your deeply ecumenical church as just “MCC”…we are Sunshine Cathedral, a different kind of church!

Approaching a Sacred Season

Dr. Durrell’s Spiritual Prescriptions

Approaching a Sacred Season

            In 1207 C.E. Rumi was born in what is today Afghanistan. Rumi was a philosopher and a poet, and his writings were filled with sensual mysticism.

            Rumi’s spirituality was part of the Sufi tradition, a mystical form of Muslim practice, and his particular spiritual journey seemed to be about increasing awareness of human unity with the Divine (which Rumi called his “Beloved”). His poems are filled with longing to be in constant communion with the divine Presence.

            Rumi was also a lover of the arts. He believed poetry, dance, and music had spiritual qualities and could be employed in the spiritual search for meaning.

            For Rumi, love was divine, the God of his understanding was infinitely loving, and sharing love extravagantly was a way to honor the Sacred. As we pray, sing, dance, and express love, we are evolving toward enlightenment, growing in our awareness of the Divine, and if we have in any way felt disconnected from our spiritual Source, we will begin to feel reunited with It…or so the philosophy of Rumi would suggest.

            Rumi’s understanding of spirituality as a returning to our Beloved Source, or awakening to the divine Presence, can be seen his poetic prayers of love to the Infinite, as when we wrote, “The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for You, not knowing how misguided that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They are in each other all along.”

            I suppose the reason Rumi is on my mind right now is because we are approaching a sacred season, and sacred seasons should help us, to borrow a line from Marianne Williamson, “return to love.” Returning to divine Love is the heart of Rumi’s beautiful works.

            November 29^th begins the Christian season of Advent which leads to the celebration of Christmas on December 25^th (when we recall the birth of Jesus and find ourselves called to acts of generosity). December 6^th is the first night of Hanukkah (the Festival of Lights, a commemoration of the rededication of the Jewish Temple). December 22^nd is the Winter Solstice, or Yule, a sacred time for Wiccans and Neo-Pagans. And December 24^th this year is the day of celebration for the birth of the prophet Muhammad. With so much spirituality in the air, so much hope and goodwill, the holiday season always feels a little magical. If only we could hold onto that magic all year long!

            So, as we approach this sacred season, I add my wishes to the magic-filled air. I wish for religion to be a unifying force that affirms the sacred value of all people, rather than a weapon used against those we dislike or distrust. I wish for refugees to find safety, and for them to be treated with dignity wherever they may go. I wish for the LBGT community to remain vigilant in working to secure and protect equal rights in every area of life. I wish for peace to become more popular than violence. I wish, as Rumi did, that we will all fall in love with divine Love, by whatever Name we call It and in whichever tradition we celebrate It; and I wish for us all to seek to express that Love more and more in our lives. The approaching sacred season is a good time to start.

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins is the Senior Minister of Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale.

written for the Florida Agenda

The Fundamentalist Persecution Complex

A school in Mississippi had an "optional" assembly that was opened in prayer. Someone sued, the school was fined ($7k i think) and now, of course, the Religious Right is crying that Christians are oppressed, the courts are being used against them, the end is near, the boogeyman ("Satan") is attacking the church...blah blah blah. I asked if they would be as upset if during an "optional" assembly, someone opened the meeting with an invocation to Isis and someone was offended and sued the school; would they rush to the defense of the "persecuted" worshipers of Isis? My suspicion is that in THAT instance they would support (perhaps even lead) the suit against the school for allowing the Isisian prayer!
Moreover, I chimed in with the following:
"1. Jesus instructed people to NOT pray in public...but this is about Christian dominance and Christian fragility, so never mind Jesus' opinion on the matter.
2. Why would anyone go to a public school for prayer meetings? [It wasn't billed as a prayer meeting, but once you pray, it's a prayer meeting, unless, like at government functions, invocations are offered by people of many religions or in neutral language that is more or less to the idea of goodness, hope, and civility and not to any deity or promoting any dogma].
Optional or not, there could certainly be peer pressure to attend, and proselytizing could result (If I were a Jewish or Agnostic or Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu or Wiccan parent, I wouldn't want my children being targets of convrsion tactics at the tax supported public school).
3. When you have to pay a worship tax or have to get state approval to hold worship services on church grounds, then you will have an argument for being oppressed for your faith. When you don't get to have "optional" Christian worship services (where there are also no "optional" Buddhist, Satanist, Sikh, Jewish, Muslim, or Scientology worship services) at a non-religious, tax supported venue, that is not oppression. That is the denial of unearned privilege. Your child can still pray all day long (who would even know?), worship every Sunday with you in the church of your choice, even be driven to school with a rosary dangling from the rearview mirror. Your faith isn't being attacked; it just isn't being given preferential treatment. It's a non-issue."

I await my hate mail.

The Golden Rule is the Way

"Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6.31

Some 70 years after Jesus' execution, an anonymous writer (in the gospel we call 'John's Gospel') imagined Jesus saying, 'I am the way, the truth and the life...' The Golden Rule was the way that Jesus demonstrated, the way that he lived, the way of enlightenment and compassion and service that he modeled. 'The way' didn't mean to feel superior to people who held other prophets are gurus in high regard; the way was the way of loving neighbor, treating others as one would wish to be treated, of seeing everyone as equal ('the last are first and the first are last'), the way of compassion and kindness over legalism (the Good Samaritan). And so, the Way is taught in every enduring spiritual tradition, and regardless of where we discover the way, following it and applying its truth to our lives is still how we commune best with the Source and Substance of all life.

Image found on Internet

Demonizing "the Other" Never Helps

Today, in response to yesterday's shooting in Tennessee, Franklin Graham posted that the U.S. is under attack from Islam and that no Muslim should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. "until the Muslim problem is solved." A resident of a "free" country in the 21st century posted that (with an alarming number of supportive replies). Mine, however, differed.

I am a gay man, and I have benefited from heterosexual allies standing up for LBGT rights. I cannot in good conscience remain silent when other marginalized groups are targeted and vilified.
My response to Mr. Graham on his Facebook page was as follows:

"While I disagree with almost everything F. Graham says and stands for, this xenophobic, Islamaphobic, racist, demonizing, dehumanizing, wholesale slander of an entire group of people is the most reprehensible diatribe in a long, sad history of reprehensible diatribes to come from Graham. "Muslims" are not any more likely to be "radicalized" than any other religion. I am a Christian pastor and I hope I am never lumped in with the same sort of racism, homophobia, and misogyny that Graham promotes as religion. Of course, just as there are dangerous Christians (and Jews and Hindus and Atheists), there are dangerous Muslims; however, those who disgrace and blaspheme their religion with violence (and violent rhetoric) never represent the best of their religions or the true intent of their religons nor are their acts of violence representative of the larger bodies of the faithful. Criminals must be held accountable for their individual actions, but others who share their faith or skin tone or ethnic heritage must not be condemned for the acts of individuals. "Radical" Muslims no more represent what Islam truly is than the KKK represents what Chrisitanity is. For all the whining about religious persecution on this page, it is beyond hypocritical to then attempt to persecute an entire religion. I hope good people of varying beliefs will challenge Franklin Graham for his dangerous, prejudicial rhetoric." Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

Prayers for Marriage Equality

Invocation by Durrell Watkins
One: Equality is on our minds today, Holy One. We are grateful for the victories we have won. We are hopeful for the future. We spend this hour in this holy place praying for marriage equality, praying for justice, praying for good news, in your many names. 
All: Amen.

Prayer for SCOTUS Marriage Equality Decision by Durrell Watkins
One: Goddess of Love, Lord of Life,
Mother of Possibilities, Father of Hope,
Spirit of Justice, Wind of Positive Change,
Fire of Courage, Wave of Right Relationship,
Ground of All Being,
We dare to embrace optimism today.
We choose to believe that Right Action is at hand.
We pray for the Supreme Court to protect the rights of all people, to uphold the ideal of liberty and justice for ALL.
We affirm that marriage equality is right and good, and it must and it will become the law of the land.
The time is right. Let Love prevail! In the name of all that is good and holy we pray. 
All: Amen.

Inter-religious Litany for Marriage Equality by Durrell Watkins 
(using Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist sources)
One: Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu…
All: Blessed are you, our sovereign God!
One: We know that love is divine.
All: And so we pray for love to prevail, for all genuine, mutual love to be recognized and protected.
One: Om gum ganapatayei namaha.
All: We revere That Which is Holy and we know It can remove all obstacles and grant us blessings.
One: Om mani padme hum.
All: May compassion and loving-kindness guide the leaders of our nation.
One: Nam myoho renge kyo.
All: We are devoted to the Law of Love.
One: Gate gate paragate, parasamgate bhodi svaha.
All: We will keep moving forward, all the way to enlightenment and joy.
One: All shall be well; all shall be well…
All: And all manner of things shall be well.
One: We pray for marriage equality.
All: We pray for liberty and justice for all.
One: Alleluia! Shanti. Shalom. Blessed be.
All: Amen.

Vernal Equinox...Blessed Be

Today marks the Vernal Equinox. In ancient, earth-based, goddess traditions, the deity Ostara (Germanic) or Eostre (Northumbrian) or Eastre (Old English), whose name inspired our word "Easter," was honored with painted eggs and symbols of hares (bunnies)...both symbols of fertility, new life (both still used in Easter celebrations). The Equinox marks a shift in seasons when days start getting longer (and hopefully, in cold places, warmer) and flora starts to bloom again (life emerges from Winter's tomb). Spiritually, it's a time to embrace personal renewal, to be reminded that all things are made new, that life is resilient, and that beauty always returns. Wishing everyone a meaningful Equinox and beautiful days to follow. Bright Blessings!

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

Happy Mabon

Dear Friends - It's a rainy day today, one of many in an especially rainy season this year in South Florida. One of the great things about a dark, rainy Saturday is that the mind seems to go naturally and easily to a place of reflection. My thoughts today turn to recent events: The unrest that seems to keep much of the world agitated. The recent deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and other diplomats in Libya. The terrible ways that religion is often misused to create division rather than to celebrate diversity. The recent increase in hateful rhetoric against same-gender loving people. The on-going war on women's independence over their own bodies. If my reflection were to stop at this point, I should be terribly depressed! But I think of the rain and I imagine it washing away the unrest, the fear, the agitation, the hatred, and the mistrust in the world. I think of power and privilege being "watered down" so that justice and equality can flourish. And once I imagine this spiritual cleansing, then I remember positive possibilities that fuel optimism. Today is the First day of Autumn. In fact, Autumn began today, Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 10:49 AM. This day is known in some traditions as "Mabon." Mabon is a weaving festival where members of a community weave strands together to symbolize adding to life as it is whatever they wish for life to become. What a beautiful tradition! So, on this rainy beginning of Autumn, I think of the life I am weaving with my thoughts, attitudes, feelings, and choices. I think of the blessings I would add to my life and the life of my community: I wish for good health of mind and body. And what I wish for myself, I wish for everyone. I wish for prosperity, achievement, and happiness. And what I wish for myself, I wish for everyone. I wish for peace and confidence. And what I wish for myself I wish for everyone. And I wish for the pledge I grew up reciting in this country to become a promise and an experienced reality not only for this country for but all places in the world. I particularly call to mind the words, "One [people]...with liberty and justice for ALL." To the world as it is, may we weave strands of hope, healing, and happiness, peace, purpose, and prosperity! Let this be our prayer and our intention and our commitment. The Psalmist wrote, "The Eternal watches over the steps of those who do justice." That seems like a good Autumnal Equinox affirmation and a call to continued positive action. I hope you will join me for worship tomorrow, Sept. 23rd at Sunshine Cathedral and remember all the wonderful events we have coming up to celebrate the Cathedral's 40th anniversary. But for now, let the thunder be the power of hope in your hearts, let the winds be the breath of life that fills you with peace, hope, and joy, and let the falling rain be a reminder that heavenly blessings are flowing abundantly into your life now and always. Happy Mabon! Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins Senior Minister

prayer for the world

PRAYER FOR THE WORLD by Durrell Watkins

Universal Spirit of Life,

In the midst of conflicts, fears, troubles, and concerns, we dare to believe in the possibility of peace, in the power of hope, and in the reality of love.

May our world today embrace the amazing potential that lies within every human heart.

May our world today seek peace instead of war, healing instead of revenge, communion instead of conflict.

May our world today choose to be aware of the ubiquitous web of existence to which we all belong, and may human dignity be affirmed and the sacred value of all life be celebrated.

Let blessings now flow into every life and may peace prevail on earth. Amen.

Religion Shouldn't Be an Excuse to Hate

http://gaysofla.com/articles/commentary/268-religion-shouldnt-be-an-excuse-to-hate.html

Prayers for Sikh Temple

Sunshine Cathedral, a progressive Metropolitan Community Church, extends warm wishes to the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin for healing in the aftermath of the attack on its worshipers yesterday, August 5^th.

Sikhism is one the six largest religions in the world (along with Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism), but more important than its size is the fact that it is made up of members of the human family seeking enlightenment, wisdom, and spiritual growth who have consistently contributed to the pursuit of wisdom, peace, and joy in the world.

We at Sunshine Cathedral affirm those who have inherited or chosen the Sikh pathway to spiritual fulfillment and we denounce the unprovoked violence that that Temple in Wisconsin has suffered. Furthermore, we pray for healing for those who have been wounded and comfort for those who have suffered loss.

May God bless the members and friends of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin who are in our hearts at this time.

Peace and blessings,

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins
Senior Minister

Sunshine Cathedral

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Divine Unity

The omnipresent spirit of life is described in the vocabularies and myths appropriate to each culture, but we all experience the Sacred and in essence we are all sacred. How or if we personify the Sacred and what we call it and what stories we imagine about it are not as important as the universal experience of hope, the power of love, and the search for deep meaning.

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)

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)

Open At the Top

Reprinted from Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Open At the Top

Ernest Holmes called his Religious Science philosophy "open at the top," meaning that all religions had insights worth exploring, that new learning was always possible, that spiritual truths could be discovered from many sources and from one's own experience.

In fact, Holmes never claimed that his Religious Science or "Science of Mind" was divinely revealed. It wasn't dictated by the Archangel Gabriel. It wasn't delivered by the Angel Moroni. It wasn't written down as an oracle or a prophecy. It wasn't canonized by an ecclesiastical council. It wasn't written in a trance. It wasn't the work of an ascended master being channeled through Holmes. It was simply what he discovered from his own research and what he could personally verify by way of practice. Holmes was able to blend the discoveries of science, the opinions of philosophy, and the revelation of religions to form what he believed was a spiritual or religious "science," that is, a systematic approach to spirituality that could be tested and its results repeated.

I'm not pushing the Science of Mind, aka Religious Science, though I have been profoundly influenced by it. What I am pushing is the idea that religion should be "open." Non-doctrinal, open, flexible, inclusive, experiential spirituality that sees the wisdom of science, the brilliance of philosophy, and the beauty of Judaism, Buddhism, the teachings of Jesus, the writings of Emerson and Swedenborg and more is something that can not only help us live happier and maybe even healthier and more prosperous lives but also help prevent needless religious wars and the spiritual violence caused by religious bigotry.

I'm not pushing Science of Mind, per se, but I am pushing for religion that is "open at the top." I hope to see an open Christianity, an open Islam, an open Judaism, an open Wicca, an open Buddhism, an open Hinduism, an open Unitarian Universalism, an open Humanism, an open Agnosticism, an open approach to A Course in Miracles...an openness in Religion that allows for peace and mutual forbearance. I'm ready for religion that builds up the individual seeker without tearing down the lesbian or the gay man or the transexual or the atheist or persons of other religious paths. I don't think a single religion is the answer, nor do I think that the absence of religion is the answer. I believe the answer is whatever religion that helps you without hurting others. I believe the answer is religion that is open at the top.