Is New Thought on Life Support?

Is New Thought on Life Support? Ideas are forever...Swedenborg's allegorical approach to scripture, Emerson's oversoul and awareness of being part of god, Spinoza's monism, Bishop Berkeley's subjective idealism, Fox's Inward Light, Yogananda's belief that the soul is the individualized consciousness of god...they were around before the new thought movement and are well ensconced in the movement. I don't worry about ideas and principles...they've been with us always and will be available to us always. And properly understood and faithfully applied they will improve lives. Where I get concerned about New Thought is when we become arrogant ('what I understand and have found to work must be the only real way'), or when we lack compassion ('if you had the consciousness for health or prosperity your dreams would come true'), when we seem selfish ('I tithe so the universe will give me more money but I don't want to give you too much help because it might make you dependent and would stunt your spiritual growth'), or when we turn away from difficulties and heartaches in the name of "not wanting to give them energy" or "not wanting to make them seem real." I don't suggest that these attitudes come from animus or that they are never appropriate at least in some measure. But sometimes we make New Thought into an excuse to deny our humanity. I have honestly known people who deny grieving because they know the "truth" that their loved one is fine and god is all and pain is an illusion, etc. I hope I never become so enlightened that I can't admit when I'm sad. My fave Zen story is about a disciple who finds his master crying. The student asked why his master was crying and the great old teacher said, "because my wife died this morning." The disciple said, "but master, you've taught us that everything is an illusion." and the zen master replied, "Yes, but my wife was my favorite illusion." I am very inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh's engaged buddhism. Jesus' was an engaged spirituality...involved in justice, health care, family dynamics, community activism, food relief, counseling (exorcisms). we can learn the principles and apply them to healing injustice, systemic oppressions, inequities, etc. And thoughts and attitudes make a difference and Treatment can work wonders and the one Power is everywhere evenly present...AND, poison killed buddha and socrates, Jesus and Paul were executed, Moses (though possibly mythical) did not enter the promised land, Bahaullah spent years in prison. Enlightened folks, Truth students suffer too and there shouldn't be shame in that. We can all manifest abundance, but I might do so more easily if I don't also have to deal with racism, sexism, homophobia, struggling economies, natural disasters, etc. Prosperity Consciousness can work for everyone, and, some have to face more obstacles than others which makes the manifestation all the greater but also might delay it a bit. The "isms" (and the challenges in life) are very much in the realm of experience and they are deleterious. I can "know" nutrition for you, but I can know it while making you a sandwich. It's usually wise to tether one's camel even while trusting Allah. That's my concern...that if NT seems myopic or uncaring or doctrinaire, then it will repel more people than it attracts and the principles won't do much good if people aren't willing to hear them because the presentation seems unkind or detached from the complexities of life. The organizations, like most religious organizations right now, may decline or stagnate or need to reinvent themselves to serve new cultural and social patterns, but if the Teaching helps people feel loved and empowered and worthy and gives them tools to improve their lives without feeling judged for needing to improve their lives...then the teaching will live on forever. Will we always call it new thought, will we always have boards and schools and retreat centers?...maybe. I'm not as attached to that as I am to the message that has enriched (and a time or two even saved) my life. That message is going to be fine. And people will find it one way or another. Whether it looks like Unity-DivineScience-SOM et al remains to be seen. I think it will be fine either way...as long as the message reaches hearts and uplifts the human spirit. THIS is a particular moment in history where just such a miracle is needed. Once it occurs, few will care what we called the "magic" that brought it about.

Compline - End of Day Prayer

January 9, 2025

COMPLINE with +Bishop Durrell

[Compline is the end of day prayer as one prepares for sleep.

Tonight's Compline includes reflection and meditation as well as a closing prayer.]

California is on fire. Lives are being turned upside down. It will take months or years for some people to fully recover.

By the way, it’s fire. It’s not a divine tantrum or a curse or the fulfillment of some ancient prognostication. It’s fire. It happens. We don’t need superstition or conspiracy drama. What is needed is our concern and our compassion and our generosity.

While fires rage in one area, bitter cold attacks others.

And while the elements misbehave (and of course climate change is a factor and should be addressed), a country mourns the loss of a great humanitarian.

President Jimmy Carter’s work with Habitat for Humanity, and the Carter Center’s work around the world, has touched innumerable lives. In addition to election oversight and diplomatic efforts, the Carter Center also employs about 200 people in Atlanta and thousands more throughout the world. The sort of leader who never stops trying to make the world a better place for everyone is too rare, and now there is one less. Of course we grieve.

BREATHE. Let’s spend one full minute in silence just noticing our breath. Let’s take a full minute respite from all the crazy and all the scary and all the unknown. Let’s have one perfect minute of relaxed breathing and calmness. We deserve it and we can have it. Right now.

Following the breath can be a prayer. A prayer for peace by embracing it and letting it then float into the atmosphere. Another word for breath is “spirit.” When we connect with Breath, we are touching something sacred and powerful and beautiful. Breathe.

We can also ask the Universe to help us, or the angels to guide us, or the ancestors to be with us, or the saints to pray for us, or for the God of our understanding to hold us throughout all the ups and downs of life. Breathe. Pray. Repeat as needed.

My close of day prayer:

Let showers of blessing heal California, and a warm breath of heaven minister to those facing dangerously cold temperatures.

Let peace seem more real than problems. And may we have the courage and the grace to hope, no matter how many times hope didn’t seem to change the outcomes. Still, hope banishes despair, at least for a while, and sometimes, what we hope for does come to pass. Oh, let us dare to hope, or at very least, let us hope to find hope.

May the legacy of Jimmy Carter continue to bless the world, and may we bless his memory even as his memory inspires us. And may humanitarians and peacemakers and justice workers and lovers of humankind rise among us, and may we be willing to count ourselves among them in some measure.

It is in peace and with faith that I pray. Amen.

Bless you and Good night.

+Bishop Durrell

Pray Without Ceasing - You're Doing It Anyway

People are often confounded by the notion of prayer but I think it's very natural and can be quite effortless. Have you ever held your breath waiting for news, hoping it was better than many feared? Wasn't that your body and subconscious saying together, though silently, "My heart is holding this situation in love and I am wishing for the best possible outcome"? And wasn't that a prayer?
Has your heart ever broke open, or even shattered (it seemed) as you considered the agony someone else was experiencing, and in response didn't your tears flow? Wasn't that your spirit touching theirs and offering the blessing of compassion, and wasn't that a prayer?
Have you ever said or even thought "good luck" while truly wishing someone a satisfying experience or a joyful outcome? Have you ever said, "be careful" to someone driving away or leaving for a trip, and was that expressed wish terribly different from asking saints or ancestors or angels to watch over your beloved traveler?
Prayer is part head and part heart,
part logic and part love,
part mechanics and part mystery,
part poetry and part principle,
part faith and part formula,
part humility and sometimes even part hubris,
part courage and part comfort offered by outrageous hope and a sense that life is meant to be good and a realization that we are all, somehow, connected to all that is and all that ever has been.
And in one way or another, don't we experience or engage in one or more of these "parts" almost every moment of our lives?
"Pray without ceasing" may not be so much an instruction as an observation that we are doing that anyway.
I bet you have prayed in the last hour or so. You may not have offered your prayer to a deity, you may not have ended the experience with an "amen," but you undoubtedly have felt hope or gratitude or love or compassion in the last hour, and I would call that prayer. See, it's not so difficult after all. 

--Bishop Durrell Watkins, D.Min.

Don't Dis the Myths

I'm a big fan of myths, but one should be honest when dealing in myth. Myths are beautiful, speak a poetic language, engage the imagination, & point toward realities mere facts hint at only clumsily...don't dis my myths. 

Remind me if you wish that stories of global floods, virgin conceptions, spending half a week in a fish, conversing with snakes & donkeys, giants being angel-human hybrids, & people living hundreds of years are myths, but then let's sort out what the myths can teach us about life. Of course they didn't happen, but how DO they happen in us & in our lives? (dw)

Christmas Can be an Affirmation of LGBTQ People

 Christmas should, or at least can be, a special time for LGBTQ+ people. Consider this…think about the story itself…

In Luke’s Gospel, Mary becomes pregnant but not by the man to whom she is betrothed. The heroine of our story is the subject of scandal. Her promised husband has not fathered her child and he can leave her for this and if he does, she will be ruined. Condemned. Treated as an outcast. Destined to a life of poverty and scorn.

Now, we don’t know who the father is, but the writer of the tale would have us imagine that mary has been impregnated by the Breath of God (as a Greek philosopher had been in another myth). So, Mary hasn’t copulated with a man, but with a gender neutral spirit (or, if we take the Hebrew word for spirit, she has copulated with a feminine spirit). That means Jesus would not have a Y chromosome. Male in appearance, but not male by chromosomes. The Jesus of Christmas is intersex and conceived in what can be called a queer way.

And when this intersex child of a scandal ridden teen mom is born, angels sing about it. God loves the outcast, the marginalized, the queer. God sends choirs to serenade their birth.

We don’t have to take the story literally; it would be remarkable if we did, but we can take it seriously and see that in our sacred literature people who today would be part of our LGBTQ+ community are affirmed and celebrated, even considered to be chosen by God, even called child of God. That makes the Xmas Story our story, and we can celebrate that no matter who does or doesn’t want to celebrate with us. 

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE

There are actually many ways to study scripture. The various methods of reading and making meaning of scriptural texts are collectively called Biblical Criticism.

The least helpful and least accurate way would be to read as a fundamentalist might. Fundamentalists are narrowly focused Christians who believe that non-Christians are rejected by God and that one must accept certain "fundamentals" in order to truly be Christian. Those fundamentals include:

The Bible is to be considered inerrant (basically dictated by God without any mistake or incorrect information), Jesus' literal virginal conception is not to be questioned, his execution is meant to be seen as our means of salvation, the resurrection must be seen as a literal, historical, physical event, and one must expect his literal, physical return one day.

I, personally, cannot affirm a single "fundamental" as being true for me. The Bible is for me a human project, the so-call Virgin Birth is mythological (comparable to many miracle birth stories in antiquity), Jesus' execution was a brutal act by an oppressive empire, resurrection is an experience we share but not a single, literal, historical event, and Jesus' return is allegorical and meant to help us be Christ in the world rather than have us wait for a hero to tidy up our messes.

But I can easily reject fundamentalist views because I have learned to think critically and because I have been exposed to various methods of biblical criticism.

If the fundamentalist approach isn't helpful, what are some ways of engaging scripture that might be more energizing?

Allegorical Interpretation: In addition to characters and stories say on the page, a second level of meaning is extracted from (or applied to) the text. Allegorical interpretation might suggest a story from one part of the Bible represents something from another part (like the Ark representing St. Mary sheltering God's people beneath her veil in stormy times) or it might apply biblical stories to larger, universal themes (rather than asking if the resurrection literally happened, an allegorical approach would be to ask how the resurrection story points to possibilities in our lives to rise above defeat, heartache, unfairness, loss, or disappointment). 

Allegorical approaches to bible reading were used by Origen of Alexandria, by the mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg, and has traditionally been a preferred method of bible study in the New Thought Movement (Charles Fillmore, for example, used each apostle to represent mental states, e.g., John represented love, Thomas represented understanding, Peter represented faith and so on). 

Demythologizing Scripture: This approach looks at the fantastic claims of scripture (walking on water, Jonah in a fish, a donkey talking, people living hundreds of years, etc.) and tries to separate the claimed events from the moral lesson or theological point the stories may be trying to make. 

Historical-Critical Method (used to be called "Higher Criticism") - looks at the traditions, languages, oral transmission of stories, and politics that influenced the writers. Asks who is writing, to whom, and why? Has been used since the 19th century and has always been intended to read the texts free from dogmatic bias. Field of archeology is helpful to this method of study. 

Literary Criticism - tries to establish the genre of the documents (poetry, biography, homily, hymn, parable, etc). Examines the structure, date, and authorship of documents based largely on the internal evidence in the documents, but external evidence is employed when helpful (as in dating texts). If one document quotes another, those quotations are noticed and explored. If the voice of the "writer" changes (suggesting, perhaps, multiple writers) if the writing style changes, those things are brought under examination. Literary criticism studies the Bible as literature using scientific techniques to do so. 

Philology - studies histories of languages and compares languages to one another. Comparing ancient documents (biblical and non-biblical documents from the same periods and regions) in the ancient languages (Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, Coptic, etc.) is a very academic but also very enlightening field of study. 

Rhetorical Criticism - comparing communication styles and philosophies of biblical discourse.

Social Scientific Criticism - Uses anthropology, sociology, and social psychological to analyze biblical texts. Studies the behavior of people in the Bible in a social or cultural context, noticing ritual, customs, and actions within the environments of the actors.

Now, don't be put off by the word "criticism" - that isn't an attack on scripture. Criticism in this context is the use of scientific criteria and reason to understand and explain the meaning intended by the writers, if possible, with a high degree of objectivity. 

Some hermeneutical methods are more artistic than scientific. Theopoetics, for example, might read scripture through a theological lens, seeking to apply it in personal spiritual seeking, describing the process in artistic or poetic ways. It would try to embrace and communicate the experience of scripture to an imaginative reader. 

Some might find the allegorical method to be more artistic, or at least, more creative, than scientific. So, in addition to the scientific ways of engaging the Bible, there are also artistic ways. 

How to read the Bible? I have found every method described here (apart from the fundamentalist approach) to be helpful and enlightening. And, guess what? There are even more methods! 

Regardless of the method(s) we choose, if we approach the texts with open minds and a joy in discovering new insights, we'll probably find that we haven't nearly exhausted what the Bible has to offer us. Keep reading, keep thinking, keep questioning, and keep imagination, and the Bible will continue to open worlds of discovery for you. It might not support your doctrinal training and dogmatic certainties, but that's actually a good thing. (dw)

Pastoral Response to Violence & Racist Rhetoric

Dear Friends:

I don't have a lot of commentary for you today, or a written homily, or a series of pithy talking points. What I do have is concern for the rise of hatred in the US and in the world, and what I can offer is prayer and an invitation.

Norms of civility and decency have been ignored for a while.

We cringe and cry as we see our siblings of transgender experience shunned, dehumanized, and even murdered. 

We worry that gains made for marriage equality are being undermined. 

We sigh in disbelief as refuge seekers are treated with cruelty. 

We gasp in horror as white supremacists gather in the daylight and spew their vile hatred. 

We are saddened by the personal attacks made by Caucasian government leaders against other leaders who are persons of color. 

And we are completely exhausted by the epidemic of mass shootings that seems to be unique to this wounded nation.

I said I could offer prayer and an invitation. Let me start with the invitation.

Of course we know that the gift of democracy is that we all get to participate in it. 

If you are concerned about the health of our country, then please participate in its governance. Write to your representatives, sign petitions, donate to candidates who articulate your values, and in every single election, please VOTE.

But in addition to taking your civic duties seriously, I invite you to pray daily and worship weekly. When we gather together, sing together, pray together, learn together, are offered both challenge and comfort together, we grow, we heal, we find empowerment, we have our hope renewed. So pray daily for your community, your church, your loved ones, your country, the world...and gather weekly for worship where our shared love and hope can heal our hearts and perhaps infuse the life-stream of the planet with some much needed healing energy. 

And now, for the offering of prayer:

Dear God,

Heal our hearts. 

Heal our nation.

Heal our world.

Heal our needless divisions.

Heal our troublesome suspicions.

Heal our hatreds, our fears, our regrets.

Of course, we know that what you do for us you must do through us, so give us the courage and the grace to respond to your promptings, that we may be your healing hands in the world.

May we use vote and voice, time and treasure, word and work to bring peace and justice to this country and beyond, all for the sake of your love.

Amen. 

Yours in shared service,

 

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

Senior Minister

Sunshine Cathedral

 

From Trauma to Triumph (A Good Friday Reflection)

From trauma to triumph
by Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

“Perhaps Jesus would have preferred less than a long night of trauma in Gethsemane or less than three days in the tomb. Yet, in the midst of the dark hours…and…the lonely days and nights…life and light were active and miracles were happening…It is in the midst of weakness that you are made strong. In fear-filled times you are given courage. In trauma you are brought into serenity. In discouragement you find faith.” Mary L. Kupferle

I do not for a single moment believe that Jesus was predestined to be tortured to death. Jesus was killed by imperial powers the same way many others were. What is worthy of celebration isn’t that Jesus was tortured to death, but that the cruelty that tried to silence him and stifle the hope he gave to so many, failed. Yes, he suffered, but he still lives…in story, in song, in scripture, in ritual, in our imaginations, in every act of kindness, empowerment, mercy, and justice that we perform in his name. God doesn’t send the horrors, but God gives us the courage to face them, and miraculously, to even rise above them. Good Friday doesn’t enshrine trauma, it points toward triumph. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

Hope will prevail. Miracles are at hand. And so it is.

Tenebrae Service at Sunshine Cathedral tonight at 7 pm (4/19/19)

1480 SW Ninth Ave

Fort Lauderdale

SunshineCathedral.org 

Reclaiming Jesus: A Pastoral Letter

Dear Friends,

I was born and reared in the MidSouth where church was central to social life. Between Sunday school and youth groups, church camps and church sing-alongs, camp meetings/revivals/spiritual renewals, bible colleges and religious radio stations, billboards and bumper stickers, cemetery decoration picnics with prayer services (it’s a thing)…religion was ubiquitous. And while there were some progressive Christian and non-Christian religious communities, the overwhelming feel of the world I grew up in was conservative (and often fundamentalist) Christian.

I have always been drawn to faith and I have never experienced a day where Jesus, God, and scripture didn’t pop up in some manner, and most days (perhaps it’s an occupational hazard), those topics dominate my thoughts!

Early in life I jettisoned the strict, narrow, condemning, fearful, proselytizing brand of Christianity that seemed so normative in my childhood. The God of my experience and understanding is pure love and isn’t partial to Christians or to certain brands of Christians, but responds with grace to anyone searching for Truth and meaning regardless of the symbols and vocabularies that one chooses for the search. My fondness for Jesus and for God as I’ve experienced God through Jesus is genuine and not mere “fire insurance” for the next life. The God to which I have devoted my life and work is bigger than false binaries, bigger than either/or limitations, bigger than our fears and prejudices and self-imposed restrictions and conditions. The God I know and worship and preach is all-inclusive, unconditional, everlasting Love.

But you know what? That doesn’t mean the conservative faith that introduced me to religious living was all wrong. I remember those revivals, those meetings, those renewal services, and I see the wisdom of them. Faith, like anything we take for granted, can become routine, lax, even a bit lifeless. We need to reenergize now and again; we need to renew our commitment, revive our passion, and remember why we chose a life of religious devotion in the first place (or did it choose us?).

Last week, Robert and I were in DC for the Festival of Homiletics and then we participated in the Reclaiming Jesus prayer vigil. A week of preaching, teaching, prayer, and then a vigil of affirmations, reflections, an intentional reclaiming of the healing, compassionate, justice seeking, inclusive ministry and good news of Jesus (followed by a silent procession to the White House) was reviving! In fact, one minister from the Progressive National Baptist Church said, “This feels like a revival.”

This summer, let us have a revival of faith, a revival of progressive values, a revival of commitment. Let us reclaim the message and mission of Jesus and let us faithfully support that message and mission.

Sunshine Cathedral, as always, I am asking you to support the work of this church with your time, talent, and treasure. Pray daily for the church and for its leaders. Make worship a priority and when events are offered to bring us together, support them. Invite people to play and pray with you at Sunshine Cathedral. And if you are away, take faith and commitment with you.

When I travel I almost always visit a church. My only requirement is that it seem to offer a welcoming and inclusive ministry where I can share with others the experience of worship and reflection. I love church. I need it. And even when I can’t be at the one I love the most, I still find myself somewhere worshiping in community. I wish for all of us to so love church that we crave it, that we commit to being part of it no matter where we are. Current trends suggest that such devotion isn’t as common as it once was, but faith has never depended on trends. We can know the joy of devotion. We need it. We deserve it.

23 Christian leaders, men and women, Black and white, Catholic and Protestant, liberal and conservative, evangelical and mainline came together as a council of elders to draft the Reclaiming Jesus affirmation of faith. The entire (and powerful) statement can be read at ReclaimingJesus.org. It includes the following affirmations and denials:

1.     We believe each person is made in God’s image. Therefore, we reject white nationalism and racism.

2.     We believe we are one body. In Christ, there is to be no oppression based on race, gender, identity, or class. Therefore, we reject misogyny…We confess sexism as a sin, requiring repentance and resistance.

3.     We believe how we treat the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger, the sick and the prisoner is how we treat Christ. Therefore, we reject language and policies [that] would debase and abandon the most vulnerable children of God.

4.     We believe truth is morally central to our personal and public lives. Therefore, we reject practices and patterns of lying that are invading our political and civil life.

5.     We believe Christ’s way of leadership is servanthood, not domination. Therefore, we reject any move towards autocratic political leadership and authoritarian rule.

      We believe our churches and our nations are an international community whose interests always surpass national boundaries. The most well-known verse in the New Testament starts with “For God so loved the world”…We, in turn, should love and serve the world and all its inhabitants, rather than seek first narrow, nationalistic prerogatives. Therefore, we reject “America first” as a theological heresy for followers of Christ. While we share a patriotic love for our country, we reject xenophobic or ethnic nationalism…

The elders state: “WE ARE DEEPLY CONCERNED for the soul of our nation, but also for our churches and the integrity of our faith. The present crisis calls us to go deeper—deeper into our relationship to God; deeper into our relationships with each other, especially across racial, ethnic, and national lines; deeper into our relationships with the most vulnerable, who are at greatest risk.”

Reclaiming Jesus is nothing less than a call for renewal, revival, recommitment. Jesus has been weaponized to cause shame and fear and to marginalize many in society; we who believe in the inclusive gospel message must reclaim it, support it, and share it. May God bless us as we do so.

At Sunshine Cathedral, our food sharing programs (Brown Bag Lunch program and collections for food banks), our housing dozens of 12 step groups, our support of the Global Justice Institute, our participating in BOLD-Justice (Broward Organized Leaders Doing Justice), our civil rights history tours, our efforts to help the people of Puerto Rico after the hurricane, to raise funds for Mother Emanuel AME after the shooting at their church, to encourage people in Jamaica and Cuba, our work for marriage equality (and to protect it), our support of transgender services, our efforts to raise money for local HIV/AIDS services and for Heifer International, and our various other programs are all important and are in the spirit of Jesus, but let us also be very clear about who Jesus was and who we who follow his light are meant to be. Reclaiming Jesus is central to everything we do.

As the Reclaiming Jesus elders affirm: “Our urgent need, in a time of moral and political crisis, is to recover the power of confessing our faith. Lament, repent, and then repair. If Jesus is Lord, there is always space for grace. We believe it is time to speak and to act in faith and conscience, not because of politics, but because we are disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Amen!

Bright blessings,

Durrell Watkins, MA, MDiv, DMin

Senior Minister, Sunshine Cathedral
www.sunshinecathedral.net 

God is here

When I don’t know “what” to pray but feel the NEED to pray, I simply whisper, “God is here.” When “God” seems like an almost arrogant or silly assumption that I know what can’t be known or understand what I in my finite human experience could not possibly understand, I replace “god” with “Hope” or “Compassion” or “Wisdom” or “Peace” or “Strength.” The Mystery beyond our naming is HERE. Somehow, that simple affirmation always comforts me. God, even God beyond God, is here. And, if God is here, God is also “there” because the infinite includes everything. So, if you are facing a struggle today, I am knowing that God (that great field of unlimited possibility to which the word “god” points) is there, with you. And so it is.

Is the Bible Just a Bunch of Fairy Tales?

I am often asked if the bible is "just" a bunch of fairy tales or "just" some old stories. For a lover of stories, "just" seems misplaced. 

Religion is mythological. Myths are meant to help us get at truth, not facts. 

Bible stories, for me anyway, are allegories for life. I honestly couldn’t care less if not one thing in the Bible ever literally, factually happened...because in my experience, what the stories are trying to communicate are true and timeless and relevant for my life. I’m Joseph. I’m Jacob. I’m Mary. I’m Elizabeth. I’m Miriam. I’m Aaron. I’m Elijah. I’m Amos. I’m the serpent. I’m Eve. I’m Noah. I’m Peter. I’m Paul. I’m Stephen. Each story shows me who I am, or who I have been, or who I can be. Each story shows mistakes I’ve made or are likely to make. Each story shows me that redemption is possible, that I am more than what I currently know and more than what I’ve done so far. So, they are true for me, even if they are not factual (and, honestly, I doubt if many of them are entirely factual).

Remember the famous editorial in the 1897 Sun answering the question “Is there a Santa Claus?” When “Virginia” asks if Santa is real, the writer explains that what Santa represents (hope, generosity, kindness, goodwill, etc.) is very real and very much needed. “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” is the most remembered line from that piece. There isn’t a man living at the North Pole, flying with magic reindeer tossing presents under trees, but there is a human urge and need to care for others, to express love, to be generous...we need, and in our best moments believe in everything Santa is supposed to be. So, Santa is true, while not being factual. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Marcus Borg said there are three phases to faith development:

1. Precritical.
They sold it, we bought it. We accept the stories as they are, taking them as literal facts with no need to question them. This is how we start out.

2. Critical.

Things don’t make sense and we have a lot of questions. We start to not believe some of the stories. Walking on water? Lazarus coming to life after 4 days of decomposition? Abraham willing to slaughter his son? People in the desert being cured of snake venom by looking at a serpentine tchotchke? At the critical level, we start to call “bullshit.” [Of course Borg didn't say "B/S". The categories are his; the explanations of them in this piece are mine]

Most people get stuck at the first or second level. But Borg says there’s an important third. We have to go through 1 and 2 to get to #3, but 3 is the goal.

3. Post-critical.
That’s where we reclaim the stories and find new meaning and relevance in them. We don’t take them literally, but we no longer need to toss them out entirely. We read them and breathe new life into them and let them be free of the bondage of literalism and they become alive for us and fresh and exciting.


Sometimes people fear that expanding their understanding of and relationship to the bible is akin to giving up on God. One - don't worry about that. Two - we all give up old notions of God as we grow. We've all cast upon the garbage heap of life old gods (or understandings of the divine) that no longer serve us. Meister Eckhart wrote, “I pray God to make me free of God.” When God is presence and power and goodness and possibility rather than a person (with personality quirks), that may not be abandoning God as much as simply letting God be bigger for us...beyond description and images. Graven images of God are too limiting, that’s why the Decalogue discourages us from having them.

And what of the biblical Jesus? Was he a prophet? A teacher? Philosopher? Rebel? Social activist? Healer? Miracle worker? Revolutionary? Messiah? Divine being? Someone who lived so authentically into his humanity that people thought he must something more?

Jesus himself (in the story anyway) asks the important question: “Who do YOU say that I am?” Following Jesus, in my view, will include seeing Jesus differently over time. Relationships grow and evolve. If Jesus is going to have a primary place in my consciousness, then my understanding of him will probably change over time.  I don’t think we can get it wrong really, unless we stop trying. 

No wonder one is to work out one’s own salvation “with fear and trembling” (h/t the Apostle Paul)! It is a lot of work, and every question leads to more questions, and every answer must eventually be discarded or replaced or upgraded. But that’s the journey. That’s the faith walk. Doubting and questioning and wrestling and wondering...that’s the gig! And that’s what we see in scripture...people working out their stuff and sharing their journey in literary, symbolic, allegorical, metaphorical, mystical, mythical, tragic, comedic, political, ritualistic, poetic, clumsy, smooth, and courageous ways. 

Even if the characters aren’t real (and honestly, some aren't), the writers certainly were real, and the writers are using their characters to tell their stories and when we read and question them, we are adding our own. That’s the magic of scripture. Again, I don’t need one character to be historical in order for their stories to be relevant and powerful and life changing for me. 

Those of us who free ourselves of literalism find the Bible to be new and refreshing...offering something powerful with each new reading. It’s a conversation rather than a crystal ball, a builder’s tool rather than an anchor, an open door rather than a locked one.  So, maybe there was no Abraham. Almost certainly there was no global flood (there may have been a regional disaster). Of course Jonah didn’t live three days in a fish. Snakes and donkeys do not talk and never have. Virgins and 90 year old women don’t have babies. And the resurrection may be more about resurrecting hope and purpose and courage than about one body that was reanimated for a few weeks. AND...none of those “facts” change the truth that I find in each of those stories - truth that is applicable to my life, my journey, my faith. 

Standing in the Need of Prayer

I love the old hymn lyrics: “It’s me, it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.” I happen to be someone who needs (and relies on) the power of prayer.

Skeptics (who can usually count me one of their own, but to their annoyance I also embrace mysticism, optimism, and recurring bouts of faith) will ask me if I really believe that prayer works. My experience is, as they say in 12 step programs, “It works if you work it.” That doesn’t mean that every wish is magically granted or that every difficulty instantly goes away. But lots of overlapping realities make getting support problematic (for me) sometimes. Maybe I don’t know how to ask or maybe I don’t know who to ask, but many times seeking encouragement from a friend (or acquaintance, colleague, or even professional listener of some sort) has left me feeling as lonely or anxious or defeated as if I had never sought it at all. BUT...whenever I have prayed, “Help!” to the seeming nothingness around me, I have almost always found relief. Maybe I am able to rest. Maybe a fresh idea comes to mind. Maybe I see things from a broader and brighter perspective. Maybe I find new resolve. Maybe I just accept that I can’t do much about the problem in that moment and that kind of surrender can lead to peace or at least temporary relief. Once in a while, a miracle (a dramatic change of perception) shows up!

I’ve asked people for  support...sometimes I got it in abundance, other times I got a little and what I got came begrudgingly, still other times I got squat, but when I have asked the god of my ever evolving understanding and experience for support, I have received it. Did the support come from God, my higher Self, my subconscious mind, or are they all the same Thing (or all parts of the same Thing)? I don’t much care. What I know is that prayer has offered relief that didn’t seem to come from anywhere else. 

I think if I were an atheist I would be a praying atheist. My experience of prayer is that encouraging. So, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll keep praying. I may not do it the way you do, I may understand the mechanics of prayer differently than you do, but I have come to depend on and be profoundly grateful for moments of prayer. And, as a side note, I find some of the most cathartic prayer experiences happen in the middle of the night, but really, I think any time is a good time for prayer.  

Happy Brthday MCC

Oct. 6, 1968: a young, gay, defrocked, Pentecostal minister (Troy D. Perry) held a worship service in his living room. 12 people showed up (a powerful symbol). The coffee table became the communion table/altar. An album of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir provided the service music (adding a bit of camp and irony to the momentous occasion). Gay and straight, male and female, Christian and Jew were some of the labels of the people in the room. More than 9 months before Stonewall, this worship experience meant to welcome and affirm and celebrate LGBTQ people (known by various terms over the years) occurred and launched an ecumenical, body positive, sex positive, LGBTQ affirming, joyous, justice seeking, ridiculously optimistic, evangelical (and sometimes charismatic), Eucharistic, over time theologically progressive (which only makes sense as it began by challenging old assumptions) religious movement known as Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC).

MCC is not the powerhouse it once was, but it’s still around, and many churches are now welcoming and affirming of LGBTQ folk and their allies and loved ones.  But before they got there, MCC was doing the work. 

MCC’s early, provocative, and courageous witness led the way for mainstream churches to become more accepting and appreciative of the Queer children of God. MCC was also a leader in the inclusive language movement and was way ahead of most churches in compassionately responding to the AIDS crisis. 

Whatever becomes of MCC, the world will always be better because Troy Perry started a movement that said the LGBTQ members of the human family were part of the divine diversity of creation and were fully embraced and loved by God, and that movement helped change hearts and minds and bring hope and healing to countless lives. 

Many of us in ministry today are in ministry because of MCC. When we didn’t have other options, MCC was an option. MCC blessed our unions, performed our funerals, visited us in hospitals, debated the fundamentalists, spoke to city councils and state legislatures, and prepared and ordained us for ministry. In time, for a variety of reasons, some of us left MCC for other communities, some of us embraced dual or even triple affiliations, remaining in MCC but not exclusively. But wherever we ended up, we know MCC gave us our start, and for that, let us always be grateful. 

49 years ago, a prophet was raised up, and he spoke the word of God’s all-inclusive and unconditional love, and the Church and the world would never be the same again. God bless you Troy Perry!

Help Us Be Better (Prayer in Response to the Mass Shooting in Las Vegas)

Sacred Heart of Jesus,

Immaculate Heart of Mary,

Quan Yin, 

Lord Krishna,

Angels of grace and mercy...

We are all so tired.

We are tired of being angry.

We are tired of being afraid.

We are tired of feeling helpless.

We are tired of the cult of greed.

We are tired people being targeted for who they are.

We are tired of fighting.

We are tired of having our health care, our education, our wages, our relationships, our dignity being constantly threatened.

We are tired of mad men with WMDs acting as if human lives were pieces on a chess board. 

We are certainly tired of people by the dozens being mowed down in our streets, in our schools, in our cinemas and hotels. 

We are tired of being tired. 

We made and/or allowed this mess. It’s probably up to us to fix it. But to do that, we’ll need more hope, more compassion, more courage, more resilience, more wisdom, more commitment to higher, better ways...that’s where you come in, symbols of compassion, faces of love...

We dare not ask you to magically repair what we are unwilling to address, but perhaps you can inspire us, encourage us, whisper words of sanity, of healing, of determination to our hearts; somehow, in some way, maybe you will help us do what we have been unwilling to do so far. Help us be better. Inspire us to do better. And when we finally get our shit together, then add your blessings to our efforts. 

We’re tired. But we must do something about this chaos. So cheer us on if and when we collectively decide that we are better than this, that we deserve better than this, that we will no longer settle for this...this chaos, this pain, this madness. 

Help us help ourselves.

Help us help one another. 

Help us get motivated to mend what is broken, to nurture what is weak, to dream and work and move toward better days. 

Help us become the miracle that we need.

Amen. (dw)

I Sometimes Miss the Magic

I sometimes miss the magic.
Mystery, Wonder, and Hope remain close companions but Magic visits less and less in recent years.
Maybe I’ll find some old pixie dust or faded wizard’s robe in the back of a drawer or cupboard that will bring the magic back. Mine has become a reasonable faith, a humanistic spirituality and it serves me well and I share it passionately, but a leprechaun’s gold coin, a glimpse of a unicorn, or even a quick rent-a-ride on a flying carpet would be welcome. I think I’ll check those drawers and cupboards now. (dw)

Navigating the Difficulties

NAVIGATING THE DIFFICULTIES 

The storms. Mother Nature crying out in pain. Climate change, and those who reject the evidence of it. Fires. Earthquakes. The threat of war. People terrified of losing lifesaving healthcare. Xenophobia. The normalization of blatant racism. Demonization of same-gender loving people. Dehumanization of gender non-conforming, gender queer, and transgender people. Islamaphobia. Anti-Semitism. Inexperience and ineptitude in high places. And this is all in addition to personal difficulties, uncertainties, regrets, and fears which might seem daunting enough without angst on a global level. 

How to find peace in the midst of the chaos? How to hold onto faith, or at very least, hope? 

For me, this is where spirituality comes to the rescue. I turn to my sacred texts and I find Joseph recovering from betrayal, false accusations, abandonment and not only surviving but thriving and helping others do so as well. I see Jacob wrestling with the unknown and refusing to give up until he receives a blessing. I see Ruth widowed and in distress but finding ways to survive and take care of her loved ones. I see Jesus having love for Lazarus that death itself could not sever. I see Hagar crying because she has been exploited and abandoned by a powerful man and is alone in a desert facing almost certain death when suddenly she finds a well in the wilderness and a friendly community and her life is saved and takes on new meaning. The sacred stories remind me that difficulties are part of life, but so is navigating them and finding new opportunities and renewed joy. 

The faith community is also a source of strength for me. We pray together, sing together, laugh together, cry together...TOGETHER. We're never alone. We don't have to face anything in isolation. 

And in addition to stories and community, spirituality gives me the gift of prayer. Prayer for me is an inward experience, an embrace of high ideals, a immersion in hope, a summoning of strength, a moment to draw from the well of peace, a reminder that there are possibilities that we may yet see and seize. Prayer also reminds me that I am part of a larger life that cannot be diminished by any situation or circumstance. 

Maybe some of us are feeling a bit overwhelmed these days. There are many ways to navigate the difficulties. My primary way is to engage and depend on my spirituality: my sacred texts, my loving community, and the comforting power of prayer. My prayer in this moment is that those facing the storms of life discover within themselves an abundance of peace, hope, courage, and comfort. Amen.  (dw)

Charlottesville: A Pastoral Statement

Charlottesville: A Pastoral Statement

Dear People of Faith,

The sight of torch wielding white nationalists last night in Virginia must surely disturb and sicken all people of conscience and character. All people of courage and conviction will want to denounce the ugliness that such a spectacle represents.

In addition to our shared outrage at such blatant racist symbolism, let us also realize that such despicable actions are emboldened by dog whistle language that demonizes "the Other", that attacks, vilifies, or seeks to exclude people for how they look, how they identify, how they pray, or who they love. Regardless of who uses this kind of divisive and demeaning language, even if such speakers of spite otherwise share our religious or political affiliations, we must name such language for the vile, vitriolic, verbal venom that it is.

Our nation, our communities, our social media seem too often to ignore or reward the language of racism, the actions of homophobia, the dehumanization of transgender people, the xenophobic threats against immigrants, recycled anti-Semitic code words, and the unfair characterizations of faithful followers of the Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him). And while we have ignored or fanned the flames of hatred, the peddlers of hate and curators of bigotry have felt it is their time to rise without fear of consequence. President Abraham Lincoln spoke of the better angels of our nature...those angels are fewer or at least less active than we need them to be right now. Let us wake our angels and call them to action!

Today, in Charlottesville, VA, violence has erupted as so often will happen when hate is glorified or left unchecked. Let us wish for healing where the poison of prejudice has flowed too freely, and let us also know that when we turn away from human evil, we are tacitly giving it permission to continue. The xenophobia and homophobia and transphobia and racism we are seeing in public places lately are demonstrations of human evil (or we could say, of soul sickness). We cannot ignore it away; we must call it what it is, and boldly declare in the name of all that we hold to be good and holy that we will not let hate win...we will at very least not allow it to be expressed without challenge.

My dear friends, this is a troubling time and a painful day. This is a day when even God must surely weep.

We can decide and determine that this is also a day of hope, a day when we will choose to recommit to the work of justice and peace for all the children of God, which is to say, for all people.

May hearts that are burdened with fear be healed.
May hearts that are infected with hate be healed.
May hearts that are sluggish with indifference be healed.
And let us pray with Jesus, "Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil."

In the weeks, months, and even years ahead, let's be faithful to worship together, work together, pray together, and even play together so that we can build up a community of justice-love that can offer hope and healing to a hurting world. Such healing is still very much needed.

Yours in shared service,

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins
Senior Minister

How 'Bout We Give Religion a Break?

Here is a mild frustration that I as a person of faith have. If one's psychotherapist doesn't miraculously lead her client to peace of mind and joy of life in 3 sessions, we don't immediately assume the therapist is a fraud. Even if she's no damn good at all, we don't assume psychotherapy is b/s...we just find a new therapist. If our primary care physician prescribes a treatment that doesn't work, we don't throw up our hands and say medical science is a scam...we try another treatment. And as every dieter in the world knows, not one person alive has tried just one diet. We keep trying. So, in a world where perfection is expected of almost no one, and where we seem to intuit, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again," it almost sends me into orbit when religion is presented as a zero/sum game. Prayer didn't work like a genie in a bottle instantly granting a wish? Must be snake oil. An intuitive person who often gives wise counsel gets something wrong once, it was clearly a shell game. Prayers for peace didn't turn every dictator in a 1960s flower child? Religion must be bogus. Why isn't religion, like other social institutions, communities, arts and sciences, something that can be useful without being perfect, helpful without being magical, a good resource without producing microwavable instant miracles? We've all been disappointed when the magic didn't work (whether the magic was a pill, an exercise, a diet, or a prayer)...but somehow, only religion/spirituality can't be forgiven for its lack of omnipotence. As a religious person, this aggravates me...and now you know.

How I Came to Believe in God

A question was asked on Facebook: "To my friends who claim a faith, how did you come to believe in a deity?"

Of course, many people answered, and as you would expect, the answers varied greatly. Here was my reply:
"Raised in a religious home and culture, a supreme being seemed an a priori fact. That same religion condemned me for my same-gender loving orientation and it's god which condemned me for being gay was apparently unable or unwilling to zap me straight. That led to deep questioning and searching...so for me, it wasn't about coming to believe that there was a deity, but trying to summon the courage to decide if possibly there wasn't one. In my search I came to believe that God is the search for God...the search for meaning, the ways we try to mine the depths of ultimate reality, is what we mean by 'god.' It may or may not be self-aware, but the questions are energizing even if they can't be answered. And anyway, it's become easy for me to accept that all that is makes up a whole, and the whole must be greater than the sum of its parts. To call it 'god' and explore ways to be nurtured and empowered by it is the religious quest, and so, I remain a religious person with more questions than answers but a 'faith' (trust) that we don't need the answers to be alright. We're all on a path and we will all reach whatever there is to reach." (dw)

A Prayer for Health and Healthcare

A Message from Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins 

There is a lot of angst in our country these days. We are often divided, suspicious, angry, and even afraid. In all of this confusion, we need to be kind to ourselves, and we must try to be respectful of one another. 

We have witnessed epidemics, wars, natural disasters, Depressions and Recessions, periods of social unrest, and we have recovered after each difficult time; likewise, we will get through the difficulties of this present time. I know that God is with us, and luckily, we have one another. I also know that the power of prayer gives us strength, courage, hope, and a peace that circumstances cannot take from us. So, we will continue to gather weekly for worship and prayer, to affirm possibilities, to encourage one another, and to praise the loving Power that holds each of us in good times and in challenging times. As we so often declare, "all shall be well." Things may not be easy nor quickly resolved, but ultimately, "all shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well."

As our elected officials argue about the best direction to take our country, as our social and democratic institutions are tested and tried, and as we the people sort out our common values and dreams, we will find that prayer, worship, and shared community can sustain us. I hope you will commit to praying with me for the highest Good of all. 

One of the issues that we hear a lot about every day is access to healthcare in this country. Some want a single payer, universal system that assures care for everyone. Others believe that free market competition will eventually provide the best opportunities. These philosophical differences will not soon be reconciled but we must acknowledge that all people deserve the best possible care and many are afraid of losing the care they currently have. Our politicians will try to come to some resolution on the matter, and whatever they work out is unlikely to be perfect, but come what may, we can hope and pray and comfort one another. Let's do just that.

Today, let us pray for the health of the people of our country, and for healthy ways of resolving our conflicts, and for all people to have their needs adequately met from cradle to grave. I believe in the power of prayer. And so, let us pray:

God of abundant and endless life,

   We ask you to heal the suspicions and divisions, fears and hatreds in our wounded nation. We ask you to fill our hearts with hope and peace. We ask you to give us the wisdom, compassion, and courage to seek, to demand, and to expect equal opportunity, equal protection, and equal rights for all. And as the political pendulum swings left and right, help us to listen to the "better angels of our nature" and let us know that ultimately, all will be well.

   Today, especially, we pray for those who need medical care, those who are afraid of losing access to medical care, and for those who have been entrusted to work on our behalf to promote the general welfare. We can't know how exactly things will unfold in the days ahead, but we can know that no matter what, you are always with us and where you are, all good is possible. 

   We invite your blessings into our lives, Holy One. Give us grace equal to every need and in your great mercy, grant us peace. Amen.