I leave for Israel in 17 hours, or rather I leave for the airport then. A suggested arrival time at the airport of 2:30pm, and a flight time of 5pm followed by an 11 hour flight.
I can't let myself get too excited yet - I still have a thesis to finish and hand in first thing in the morning... and I still have 10 pages to go!
Part of the trip is a course and involves writing two site meditations after I have visited these places... Perhaps I'll post these upon my return...
I can't hardly wait to be really excited, if this is how I feel and I'm trying to be restrained tomorrow will be fun! Hopefully by then I will have escaped the noose of my thesis and can say I am officially finished my M.Div!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Open letter to the Ontario Legislature
There is a debate beginning in the Ontario Legislature about the Lord's prayer. You can have your say by going here:
I have chosen to have my say and have included it for you.
Dear representatives of the Canadian people,
I am concerned by the knee jerk potential in this debate. The Lord's Prayer has a deep meaning for me as a Christian, and as a Canadian, I find it reassuring to know that before meetings my representatives in those in discussion are remembering in themselves why they are there, their purpose for being in public life and the desire to not only remember the marginalized in their decision-making process, but to ensure they are acting with integrity and justice.
Reginald Bibby in his book Restless Churches (p46) states; "We live by the creed of diversity and multiculturalism, Christians are extremely reluctant to claim a position of dominance and can be expected to be chastised if they do…[however] the Christian numerical monopoly is a demographic reality that is not about to change in the foreseeable future." The responsibility of this fact is that Christians are an integral part in ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table, regardless of faith or creed, remembering that this includes other Christians.
Given this, I do not feel that the Lord's Prayer is appropriate, but since when did Christians start worshiping the Lord's Prayer? It is at its base, a plea for sustenance and guidance on our path, mercy for our mistakes as we are called to give mercy to each others, and an acknowledgment reminding us not to seek our own selfish gains so that we may see the glory of compassion alive around us, in each other and within ourselves.
However, the time spent with this prayer IS vitally important, and should not be consumed by the start of the meeting, but another general thanksgiving or declaration be given which includes all people of faith and those of no declared religion. This time of direction must not be merely reduced to a stunned silence, then in a few years dropped because its significance is unknown. We are much more than just physical bodies; we are beings with psyches, egos and active minds. But there is more to us still. We are spiritual creatures. To recognize the whole person, we need to recognize that we are made up of body, mind, and spirit. It is not possible to leave our spiritual selves at the door of our employment (or this honourable legislature) and enter expecting to simply do a job.
May we be frugal with our time on this debate, may all engaged feel free to speak remembering that, "Religionizing only one part of life secularizes the rest of it." (as quoted from Abraham Maslow in Corinne Wares book, Connecting to God p76).
Thank you for your consideration
I have chosen to have my say and have included it for you.
Dear representatives of the Canadian people,
I am concerned by the knee jerk potential in this debate. The Lord's Prayer has a deep meaning for me as a Christian, and as a Canadian, I find it reassuring to know that before meetings my representatives in those in discussion are remembering in themselves why they are there, their purpose for being in public life and the desire to not only remember the marginalized in their decision-making process, but to ensure they are acting with integrity and justice.
Reginald Bibby in his book Restless Churches (p46) states; "We live by the creed of diversity and multiculturalism, Christians are extremely reluctant to claim a position of dominance and can be expected to be chastised if they do…[however] the Christian numerical monopoly is a demographic reality that is not about to change in the foreseeable future." The responsibility of this fact is that Christians are an integral part in ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table, regardless of faith or creed, remembering that this includes other Christians.
Given this, I do not feel that the Lord's Prayer is appropriate, but since when did Christians start worshiping the Lord's Prayer? It is at its base, a plea for sustenance and guidance on our path, mercy for our mistakes as we are called to give mercy to each others, and an acknowledgment reminding us not to seek our own selfish gains so that we may see the glory of compassion alive around us, in each other and within ourselves.
However, the time spent with this prayer IS vitally important, and should not be consumed by the start of the meeting, but another general thanksgiving or declaration be given which includes all people of faith and those of no declared religion. This time of direction must not be merely reduced to a stunned silence, then in a few years dropped because its significance is unknown. We are much more than just physical bodies; we are beings with psyches, egos and active minds. But there is more to us still. We are spiritual creatures. To recognize the whole person, we need to recognize that we are made up of body, mind, and spirit. It is not possible to leave our spiritual selves at the door of our employment (or this honourable legislature) and enter expecting to simply do a job.
May we be frugal with our time on this debate, may all engaged feel free to speak remembering that, "Religionizing only one part of life secularizes the rest of it." (as quoted from Abraham Maslow in Corinne Wares book, Connecting to God p76).
Thank you for your consideration
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Blessing
This is one of the blessings used by the Iona community, I just found it by chance, and quite like the fact that Bishop Gene Robinson is using it!
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