Thursday, September 23, 2010
Spring Break Trip to Taize, France
Last night, we got to experience a mini Taize service in Loper chapel, and also learned about the upcoming spring break trip to Taize that will be sponsored by Progressive Christians at Berkeley, First Congregational Church at Berkeley, and Wesley House and Campus Center. The estimated total cost for the trip is $1300, but we will be doing fund-raising so that the cost to students should be $200. Learn more about the Taize community here, and email Shelly for more information and to obtain an application. The application is due at 4 pm on October 29.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Watercolors!
On Wednesday night, we had fun painting with watercolors; we felt so young at heart! Each of us shared a story which celebrated our gifts, and others painted a picture of what our story sounded like to them. In a society where we so often self-deprecate, it was positive and encouraging to remember that we each bring something special to the table. The paintings were so pretty! but we forgot a camera, so unfortunately can't post them.
Monday, September 13, 2010
"Field Trip" to Glide Memorial in San Francisco
This Sunday, we all got up early to take BART into the city to volunteer at Glide Memorial Church and share in their wonderful Sunday morning service. We bagged 700 lunches for their free meals program, and then enjoyed amazing music and an inspirational message at their 11 am celebration.
Amanda, Brittany, and another volunteer make ham sandwiches.
Sara had peanut butter sandwich duty.
So many sandwiches! Cassie mans the bagging area.
Aline and Allan filling up bagged lunches with granola bars.
Sean counts out how many lunches we've made so far...
In the sanctuary, waiting for the celebration to begin!
In the sanctuary, waiting for the celebration to begin!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The 8 Points of Progressive Christianity
Yesterday for our Wednesday meeting, we discussed the 8 points of Progressive Christianity, developed by the Center for Progressive Christianity. These points really spoke to us, with one person commenting: "I've never been able to look at a religious doctrine and say...wow, that's me!" I think we all now feel better able to discuss our faith with others who might wonder what progressive Christianity is all about and why we feel drawn to this particular faith tradition. The 8 points are listed below, along with a sampling of some highlights from our discussion. Feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments!
By calling ourselves progressive, we mean we are Christians who...
1. Have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus.
We liked that this point emphasizes that there is no "right" way to worship - everyone must interpret the teachings of Jesus for themselves. We also appreciated the emphasis on the life and teachings of Jesus, rather than his death.
2. Recognize the faithfulness of other people who have other names for the way to God's realm, and acknowledge that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us.
Truly engaging in interfaith dialog with others with a fully open heart can be a scary thing, since it can make us question our beliefs. At the same time, we both value this questioning and realize that the willingness to enter into these discussions demonstrates faithfulness in that we aren't so afraid of losing our beliefs that we're unwilling to learn from the beliefs of others. Many of us saw this interfaith dialog as central to our faith experience.
3. Understand the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus's name to be a representation of an ancient vision of God's feast for all peoples.
Some of use talked about the fact that, even as Christians, we would be denied communion at some churches. We appreciate the fact that this point emphasizes the idea that everyone is welcome at God's table, and that one doesn't have to subscribe to a certain religion to share a meal and be part of a community. We also preferred this type of symbolism (stated at FCCB as "the bread of life and the cup of blessing") to the body/blood imagery that is often used.
4. Invite all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become like us in order to be acceptable (including but not limited to):
believers and agnostics,
conventional Christians and questioning skeptics,
women and men,
those of all sexual orientations and gender identities,
those of all races and cultures,
those of all classes and abilities,
those who hope for a better world and those who have lost hope
We saw this point as ultimately being a challenge to fully welcome all people with open arms, and to not try and push our faith onto other people.
5. Know that the way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the fullest expression of what we believe.
People can easily go to church but miss the point of going out and helping others as Jesus would have. We need to act out what Jesus taught us, bringing our faith into the real world and into all our actions.
6. Find more grace in the search for understanding than we do in dogmatic certainty - more value in questioning than in absolutes.
This was difficult for some, because we sometimes just want answers! At the same time, though, we realize that there may not be answers out there (or at least, we haven't found them yet), but that doesn't mean there isn't value in the search. There is a leap of faith involved in a commitment to uncertainty. As one person put it, "I like grappling with things more than certainty."
7. Form ourselves into communities dedicated to equipping one another for the work we feel called to do: striving for peace and justice among all people, protecting and restoring the integrity of all God's creation, and bringing hope to those Jesus called the least of his sisters and brothers
We saw helping the disadvantaged as central to our faith, giving it a connection to the real world. The phrase "least of his sisters and brothers" really spoke to us, emphasizing the challenge to treat strangers as if they really are part of our families. We also saw this point as focusing not only on each person's individual mission ("the work we feel called to do") but also on community support ("equipping one another") in this difficult task.
8. Recognize that being followers of Jesus is costly, and entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of privilege.
Being a progressive Christian requires a lot of courage. All of these points are truly challenging, which is not often acknowledged by some churches. Actually putting our faith into practice is not an easy thing, but this struggle is part of what makes our faith meaningful. We also discussed the need to consider the privilege that comes from being able to call ourselves Christian in our society.
By calling ourselves progressive, we mean we are Christians who...
1. Have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus.
We liked that this point emphasizes that there is no "right" way to worship - everyone must interpret the teachings of Jesus for themselves. We also appreciated the emphasis on the life and teachings of Jesus, rather than his death.
2. Recognize the faithfulness of other people who have other names for the way to God's realm, and acknowledge that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us.
Truly engaging in interfaith dialog with others with a fully open heart can be a scary thing, since it can make us question our beliefs. At the same time, we both value this questioning and realize that the willingness to enter into these discussions demonstrates faithfulness in that we aren't so afraid of losing our beliefs that we're unwilling to learn from the beliefs of others. Many of us saw this interfaith dialog as central to our faith experience.
3. Understand the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus's name to be a representation of an ancient vision of God's feast for all peoples.
Some of use talked about the fact that, even as Christians, we would be denied communion at some churches. We appreciate the fact that this point emphasizes the idea that everyone is welcome at God's table, and that one doesn't have to subscribe to a certain religion to share a meal and be part of a community. We also preferred this type of symbolism (stated at FCCB as "the bread of life and the cup of blessing") to the body/blood imagery that is often used.
4. Invite all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become like us in order to be acceptable (including but not limited to):
believers and agnostics,
conventional Christians and questioning skeptics,
women and men,
those of all sexual orientations and gender identities,
those of all races and cultures,
those of all classes and abilities,
those who hope for a better world and those who have lost hope
We saw this point as ultimately being a challenge to fully welcome all people with open arms, and to not try and push our faith onto other people.
5. Know that the way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the fullest expression of what we believe.
People can easily go to church but miss the point of going out and helping others as Jesus would have. We need to act out what Jesus taught us, bringing our faith into the real world and into all our actions.
6. Find more grace in the search for understanding than we do in dogmatic certainty - more value in questioning than in absolutes.
This was difficult for some, because we sometimes just want answers! At the same time, though, we realize that there may not be answers out there (or at least, we haven't found them yet), but that doesn't mean there isn't value in the search. There is a leap of faith involved in a commitment to uncertainty. As one person put it, "I like grappling with things more than certainty."
7. Form ourselves into communities dedicated to equipping one another for the work we feel called to do: striving for peace and justice among all people, protecting and restoring the integrity of all God's creation, and bringing hope to those Jesus called the least of his sisters and brothers
We saw helping the disadvantaged as central to our faith, giving it a connection to the real world. The phrase "least of his sisters and brothers" really spoke to us, emphasizing the challenge to treat strangers as if they really are part of our families. We also saw this point as focusing not only on each person's individual mission ("the work we feel called to do") but also on community support ("equipping one another") in this difficult task.
8. Recognize that being followers of Jesus is costly, and entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of privilege.
Being a progressive Christian requires a lot of courage. All of these points are truly challenging, which is not often acknowledged by some churches. Actually putting our faith into practice is not an easy thing, but this struggle is part of what makes our faith meaningful. We also discussed the need to consider the privilege that comes from being able to call ourselves Christian in our society.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Walking the Labyrinth
This Wednesday, our group walked FCCB's portable labyrinth in Loper Chapel. The chapel was lit with candles and filled with beautiful music; this was truly a spiritual retreat in the middle of a busy first week of classes at Cal.
FCCB's seven circuit labyrinth provides the opportunity to take a long journey in a small space. We left the "chatter" in our minds on cards at the altar at the opening of the labyrinth, and then meditated once we reached the center.
Our group this Wednesday, after dinner and before heading over to Loper Chapel.
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