Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Shalom

Don’t let the sun go down on an opportunity to speak out for peace! Join the Network of Spiritual Progressives and a half million or so of your closest friends in a march for a world without war: Saturday, Jan. 27.

Begin that day with a joyous, interfaith worship service at the Church of the Reformation at 212 East Capitol Street, at 9:00 a.m., then walk together to the rally between 3rd & 7th Streets at 11:00 a.m. More details at http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/ .

The United for Peace and Justice-sponsored march pushes off at 1:00 p.m. More rally & march details at: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/.

If you’re interested in participating with NSP folks from Northern Virginia, contact me at revdocdee@verizon.net.

Peace

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Reimagining Christianity 2.2

The 12th, and final affirmation holds that loving ourselves includes acting on the faith that we are born with a meaning and purpose; a vocation and ministry that serves to strengthen and extend God’s realm of love. This rings close to the essential Reformed belief that God calls us all to lives of service, or, as Mr. Rodgers put it once, "the meaning of life is service." (Mr. Rodgers was arguably the best-known Presbyterian minister of the last 50 years ... "can you say, 'Presbyterian'?") Quaker educator Parker Palmer puts it this way: "Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic selfhood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be." Truth faith, whether it focuses on the way to God that Christians find in Jesus or on the way to God that Muslims find in the Prophet or on some other way, is always a way to ourselves -- for our deepest calling is to be that which God made us to be. Are you on the way? What gets in the way? Is you job related to your vocation? Should it be? Who are you called to be? Who are you ... and to whom do you belong? Just asking.