Master of Pastoral Ministry Degree Information Sheet

https://pcseminary.org/master-of-pastoral-ministry-degree

Master of Pastoral Ministry Degree

Global Ministries University (GMU) and People’s Catholic Seminary (PCS) are collaboratively offering a Master in Pastoral Ministry degree. The degree is granted by GMU and PCS is providing the course of study. This affordable master’s program is designed for those who are walking the pathway to ordination, the ordained, and members of our inclusive communities who seek to continue their education within an interactive supportive seminary environment. Credit is awarded for life experience and previous education. Global Ministries University is an accredited member of the International Association of Distance Learning. 
Scholarship Funds are available through the Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship Fund for Women Discerning Priestly Ordination. An application form can be found at:
 http://www.womensordination.org/programs/scholarship/

For more information about the degree, please contact Bridget Mary Meehan and Mary Theresa Streck at peoplescatholicseminary@gmail.com.

Information Sheet

1.   Apply directly to Global Ministries University (GMU) for admission to Master of Pastoral Ministry. Application can be found on the GMU website: http://www.globalministriesuniversity.org/application.html

2.   Payment plan is determined by length of program. All payment arrangements are made through GMU.

3.   Once admitted to GMU, students are directed to People’s Catholic Seminary (PCS) to design a program of study and to determine credit for prior learning and life experience. The GMU policy for prior learning and life experience is printed below.

4.   Global Ministries University is an accredited member of the International Association of Distance Learning. Please read GMU’s accreditation statement at: http://www.globalministriesuniversity.org/aboutgmu/accreditation.html

GMU Policy for Prior Learning and Life Experience Credit 

Traditionally, college credits are earned in formal classrooms within the academic semester. However, Global Ministries University believes that extra-institutional learning and life experiences can also be valid for college credit and therefore awards credit for relevant work duties, volunteer work, non-credit courses, seminars, and workshops. This feature could significantly reduce the amount of time it will take you to earn your Master of Pastoral Ministry Degree. 

The assessment form that is included in the orientation information serves as a guideline to assist student in the submission of prior learning and/or life experience that may be eligible for credit toward degree program.  

 
The student's completed assessment form is submitted to PCS Dean for evaluation and determination of how many credits will be awarded for prior learning and life experience.

Credits Required: A total number of 36 credits is needed for completion of the Master of Pastoral Ministry degree. Students must earn 18 credits through Global Ministries University.

Prior Learning and Life Experience Allowance: A maximum of 18 credits may be awarded for prior learning and life experience.

Prior Learning Experience: A maximum of 18 credits may be awarded for prior learning experience.

Prior Life Experience - A maximum of 9 credits may be awarded for life experience.

Study Process 

Student will complete and submit an assessment form, which includes prior learning and life experience, and PCS Dean will award credits as appropriate. Once credits are awarded, PCS and student develop a learning contract that includes the number of credits, a list of courses needed and length of time to complete the Master of Pastoral Ministry Degree. Students may choose up to 3 years to complete the program.

Messages of God's Love and Healing with Rev. Patty Zorn ARCWP

http://sacredwalkhome.com/messages-of-gods-love-healing/

"Christ Has No Body Now But Yours" , Music Video- John Michael Talbot

https://youtu.be/XH8R0mmuH9U

"Emerging Church A Change of Consciousness "Drawing from the Depths of the Great Ocean of Love", People's Catholic Seminary Offers New Degree Program in Partnership with Global Ministries University

I have learned to prize holy ignorance more highly than religious certainty and to seek companions who have arrived at the same place. We are a motley crew, distinguished not only by our inability to explain ourselves to those who are more certain of their beliefs than we are but in many cases by our distance from the centers of our faith communities as well. Like campers who have bonded over cook fires far from home, we remain grateful for the provisions that we have brought with us from those cupboards, but we also find them more delicious when we share them with one another under the stars. —Barbara Brown Taylor [1]

What is happening in Emerging Christianity is far bigger than any mere structural or organizational re-arrangement. It is a revolutionary change in Christian consciousness itself. It is a change of mind and of heart that has been a long time in coming and now seems to be a new work of the Holy Spirit. Only such a sea-change of consciousness—drawing from the depths of the Great Ocean of Love—will bear fruits that will last.

The change that changes everything is the movement away from dualistic thinking toward non-dual consciousness. We know that if we settle for our old patterns of dualistic thought, this emerging phenomenon will be just one more of the many reformations in Christianity that have characterized our entire history. The movement will quickly and surely subdivide into liberal or conservative, Catholic or Protestant, intellectual or emotional, gay or straight, liturgical or Pentecostal, feminist or patriarchal, activist or contemplative—like all of the other dualisms—instead of the wonderful holism of Jesus, a fully contemplative way of being active and involved in our suffering world.

Emerging Christianity is both longing for and moving toward a way of following Jesus that has much more to do with lifestyle than with belief. We do not want to solidify into an institution focused on certain words and the writing of documents. We want to remain, if at all possible, focused on orthopraxy (right practice), compassionate action flowing from non-dual consciousness.

We are grateful and content to let our historic churches and denominations take care of the substructures and the superstructures of Christianity. Some are gifted and called to that, but most are not. Our churches have trained us, grounded us, and sent us on this radical mission. We will keep one happy foot in our Mother churches, but we have something else that we must do and other places that we must also stand. We have no time to walk away from anything. We want to walk toward and alongside.

Gateway to Silence:
Rooted and growing in Love

References:
[1] Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith (HarperOne: 2012), 224.

Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Emerging Christianity: A Non-Dual Vision,” Radical Grace, vol. 23, no. 1 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2010), 3.

Posted in Daily Meditations | Also tagged Barbara Brown Taylor, Christianity, contemplative action, emerging church, nondual thought

My Response: People's Catholic Seminary (PCS) offers courses for the profound shift of living the mystical, prophetic and sacramental depths of the Great Ocean of Love.  In partnership with Global Ministries University, we  are now offering a Master of Pastoral Ministry Degree to equip future leaders with contemporary theology and spirituality to support contemplation in action.  www.pcseminary.org

Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP, www.arcwp.org

"Great Injustice Calls For Great Action" Contact Your Senators to Vote NO on Republican Tax Bill, Bible Reminds Us of Our Duty to Protect the Poor and Vulnerable , #2000Verses

https://sojo.net/articles/great-injustice-calls-great-action

By Jim Wallis, Barbara Williams-Skinner 11-28-2017
Print

This week, the U.S. Senate is set to vote on the Republican tax bill, following the House vote on a similar bill earlier this month. The proposed plan in the Senate is very complicated, and it is being rushed through the political process with little time to consider it or draw public attention to it. But this milestone bill will determine social outcomes for many years to come. Its passage will create a complete shift in the social safety net as we have known it, and it will signal a change that government will no longer care for the needs of the poor — the criteria that the biblical prophets demand of all those who rule.

The treatment of the poor and vulnerable is lifted up in the Bible more than 2,000 times. And it is these people, the ones our Scriptures call us to protect and serve, who will be most hurt by the results of this very consequential tax legislation. An analysis released Monday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office finds that Americans earning more than $100,000 per year would receive substantial tax cuts while the poorest Americans would be worse off. Indeed, the analysis indicates that more than 50 percent of the tax cuts would go to the wealthiest.
Take Action: Flood Senators' Offices with Bible Verses to Stop the Tax Bill

The moral case against the Republican tax bill is becoming alarmingly clear — which explains the fast pace. GOP lawmakers want to get the bill through before their constituencies have time to examine its dire consequences. But people of faith are standing up, making moral and theological arguments, more than political ones, against these tax bills.

Here is what this tax bill will do if it is passed.
Our nation’s debt will be exploded by the results of these proposed tax cuts, which will add $1.5 trillion (that’s trillion) to the federal deficit.
This deficit buster is being done to make enormous tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit corporations and the wealthiest people in the nation, i.e., your lawmakers’ funders.
Lawmakers will ultimately pay for these budget deficits by cutting programs of care, assistance, food, housing, education, health, and opportunity for lower-income people, families, and children in America.

This is the moral logic of the tax bill about to be voted on by the Senate in a matter of days: Blow a hole in the deficit, in order to give huge for tax cuts to the rich, that will ultimately be paid for by the poor — literally on the backs of their children and their future. That is a shameful hypocrisy, callous and immoral, an offense to the God who hears the cry of the poor, and a call to action for those who worship that God.[The tax bill's] passage will create a complete shift in the social safety net as we have known it ...

Countless people and leaders in our many faith communities have called, written, and met with their political representatives about these issues of fiscal morality, health care coverage, tax policy, and the biblical priority of the poor for many years now, and especially over this last year.

We have written statements, done press conferences, had meetings and rallies, delivered sermons, and prayed for the most at risk among us. Yet, despite our continual pleading for the poor, the momentum for this nation-changing tax bill continues — driven by politics, partisan pressure, and the relentless demands of the wealthiest political donors in America.

So now we are calling upon one another, as people of faith, to take the next step: nonviolent faith-based civil disobedience to call attention to the great injustice about to occur.

Let us raise the moral conscience of the nation by forcing legislators who could still block this immoral tax bill to see us — to see those they would hurt the most by their actions. According to Pew Research, 91 percent of Congress members profess to be Christian; we will remind them what the Bible says about justice for the poor. We will do so by reading our Scriptures that call us to protect and defend the poor, and by publicly praying for the most vulnerable — in the halls of Congress here in Washington, D.C., and in our senators’ offices around the country. We will read our Bibles and pray for the poor until our lawmakers either change their minds and votes, or arrest and take us to jail. And we hope that God will speak to us all. We will try to answer the words of Micah the prophet who tells us, “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”

To participate in these actions—this week—is requiring all of us to set aside other things—but that is exactly what the Congress is doing to pass this horrendous tax bill. Will you join us in action? Here’s a list of different ways to get involved, from storming our senators' social media accounts with #2000verses to taking the message directly to their local offices. Learn how you can join in.

Association of Irish Priests Call for Full Equality of Women and Men in a New Model of Ministry, Women Priests in inclusive Communities Provide Living Examples Now

https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/irish-priests-told-reform-takes-working-bishops-parishioners?utm_source=NOV_29_KELLY_ACP&utm_campaign=cc_112917&utm_medium=email
My Response: We met with Fr. Mark Patrick Hederman when we were in Ireland in August. This article points to the issue of the role of women and their full equality in the church. The full equality of women must include women in a renewed priestly ministry that is inclusive and empowered in the community of the baptized. Our model of a renewed priestly ministry is non-clerical. Our inclusive Catholic communities are living examples of what the Association of Catholic Priests )ACP) in Ireland is calling for  "a redesigning of ministry in the church, in order to incorporate the gifts, wisdom and expertise of the entire faith community, male and female."

Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP, www.arcwp.org

Article by Michael Kelly/NCR

DUBLIN — Priests who are campaigning for liberal reforms within the church need to work harder to bring parishioners on board and quit arguing with bishops, according to one of Ireland's more progressive religious voices.

Fr. Mark Patrick Hederman, a prominent author and former abbot of Benedictine Glenstal Abbey, urged a Nov. 7 gathering of priests to become part of what he described as Pope Francis' "velvet revolution" to change the church.

He also told the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), which represents about a quarter of Ireland's priests, that if they want to achieve reforms, they have to work with bishops rather than just criticizing them.

"If the ACP is trying to change things and to galvanize the bishops of this country into positive action, then even the most junior politician and unseasoned diplomat would tell them that they are going about it in the wrong way.

"Battering the beleaguered bishops is neither going to spur them into effective action nor is it going to hasten reconciliation," Hederman told the meeting of the priests in Athlone, County Westmeath.

The Association of Catholic Priests is calling for reforms within the church, including what it describes as "a redesigning of ministry in the church, in order to incorporate the gifts, wisdom and expertise of the entire faith community, male and female."

The organization has been particularly critical of members of the Irish hierarchy in the wake of a number of prominent Irish priests being disciplined by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith over accusations of teaching things that are contrary to the church.

Though the priests in question — including Redemptorist Fr. Tony Flannery — were disciplined before the 2013 election of Francis, the new papacy has not heralded a resolution to their situation.

Referring to the hierarchy, Hederman said, "If we want to get anything done in the Catholic Church in this country, we have to get them on our side."

He urged the priests to engage lay Catholics in an effective way, ahead of next year's expected papal visit to Ireland. Francis is expected to visit Ireland in August 2018 as part of the Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families to be held in Dublin.

"If it is true that Pope Francis is trying to effect a velvet revolution in the worldwide church, and if this revolution is to be carried out through the various synods which the bishops and priests are asked to convoke in every diocese, whereby the voices of all the faithful in the church can be heard, we cannot do without you. We need your help," Hederman said.

"If such initiatives, to consult with, and galvanize, the laity, are to be proliferated here in Ireland, this cannot happen without your enthusiastic commitment and support.

"In such an overall endeavor, the only possible logjams are where the priests fail to collect the data and the bishops fail to bring these to the attention of the pope. You alone can prevent either hijack, if prevention is possible," Hederman said.

The charism of the pope, he said, is to discern where the Holy Spirit is calling the church. "How can he [the pope] make that discernment unless as many voices as possible are heard and the substance of those utterances are brought back to him?" Hederman asked.

"As Pope Francis will be visiting Ireland next year, it is imperative that this work be completed, and you as priests are best placed to convoke your congregations and listen to them. Whence you can be the carriers of our messages to the bishops in the first place, and then to the pope, so that a renewed and more inclusive church may grace us all in this country for the rest of this century."

The Benedictine monk — who is among Ireland's best-known spiritual writers and retreat-givers — described his plan as "a new and daring exercise in infallibility: where the sensus fidelium [sense, or instinct of the faithful], that underutilized source of truth in the church, is activated and the Holy Spirit chooses from the multitude the one who will allow God's voice to be heard; and where the recognition of that voice, and the verification of its authenticity, belongs to the particular charism of the pope."

Meanwhile, the priests' association welcomed plans by Ireland's most-senior bishops to meet the organization to hear their concerns. Last week, the association received word from the Irish bishops' conference secretariat that Primate of All Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin and Primate of Ireland Archbishop Diarmuid Martin had offered to meet the clerics early in January.

Redemptorist Fr. Gerry O'Connor, a member of the leadership team of the priests' association, said the offer to meet was a positive sign.

However, O'Connor also rejected Hederman's criticism of the association, saying members felt that the former abbot had "misread the ACP at several levels."

He said that Hederman "confused comments from individuals with comments from the ACP about bishops, and came across as someone who had not done his homework."

In a book earlier this year, Hederman, 72, provoked controversy when he said what he described as the church's "stifling teachings on sex" need to be dramatically modernized.

He also said that the church needs to address its subjugation of women and to open a discussion on sex, celibacy and ethics.

"Now that we have legislated for gay marriage and accepted the fact that sexuality does happen for reasons other than procreation; now that we also recognize that some of the most heinous sexual crimes have been perpetrated within the 'sanctity' of marriage; it is surely time to take a more comprehensive approach to the ethics of sexual behavior," he wrote in the book The Opal and the Pearl. The book takes its title from a letter from James Joyce to Nora Barnacle in 1909.

Hederman said in the book that Catholics who wish to remain "conservative and old-fashioned," should avoid being sectarian and supportive of values and lifestyles that have been rejected by the majority of 21st-century families.

"Otherwise we are categorized as out-of-date leftovers from a previous era," he wrote.

[Michael Kelly writes from Dublin.]

Year of the Laity, Catholic Church Reform Intl

Year of the Laity In view of giving visibility and voice to the laity in the Catholic Church, CCRI has declared today as the beginning of a worldwide celebration of the Year of the Laity. This will go from  the Feast of Christ the King, November 26, 2017, to this same feast, November 25, 2018. During this year, we envision the People of God taking on a decisive and influential voice in the governance of their Church. This will never come by a decree of the hierarchy but only by the People assuming this responsibility. Once accustomed to this new role, it is our hope that lay people, by virtue of their baptism, will recognize their responsibility to heed the signs of the times and continue to lead the Church in the direction intended by Jesus Christ.  Inspired by the Brazilian Bishops Conference We draw inspiration from the Brazilian Bishops who have called for the Year of the Laity in their country with this theme: "Christian Lay Men and Lay Women, Agents of the 'Church Going Out to the Streets' in Service of the Kingdom." We support the importance of increasing awareness of the laity's mission and encourage involvement of lay people to speak out against injustices in their society. But our objective includes an equally important dimension, namely, to change the injustices within the Church. Pope Francis has repeatedly noted the ill effects of clericalism in "infantilizing" the laity. So our support for a Year of the Laity is a risk taken in hopes that CCRI can contribute to empowering and energizing the laity as envisioned by Vatican II. In a letter to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who heads the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, we invited him to join with us in taking this concept worldwide. Significant change in the governance of the Church cannot happen by one group alone or one country alone. It can only occur when enough people from the grassroots around the world declare the time has come for the People of God to take responsibility for their Church and exercise their baptismal vocation as "Priest, Prophet and Leader (King)."  Websites to visit where you can participate To provide a universal place in cyberspace for the people to come together to share plans, opinions, and convictions, CCRI would like to offer this website  www.ThePeopleSpeakOut.org as a clearinghouse for ideas from the grassroots about the status of lay participation in decision making in the apostolate of the Gospel. Go there now to share your activities, leadership taken, and comments.  During this year, we are also giving support to Pope Francis amidst his facing accusations of heresy. Go here now to sign two letters in his support,   www.WeSupportPopeFrancis.net. one initiated in Spain and the other in Germany.  What a lay-involved church might look like:  - the people initiating recommendations for the selection of bishops,  - the formation or continuance of small faith communities (SCCs, IECs, and CEBs),  - the people initiating and enhancing pastoral councils and/or diocesan councils. As Pope Francis encouraged us, let's "go bother our pastors," and make our wants known and our voices heard! People's Synods occurring during this year  During this 2018 year, unlike any time before, a series of four lay-initiated gatherings are taking place. As part of our commitment, CCRI will offer promotion and support of these synods/forums with the hope that others will be inspired to call for something similar in their region of the world. Base Christian Communities in the Urban World, to be held in Londrina, Brazil in January (Latin American CEBs) A People's Synod Inspired by the Spirit, to be held in a Dallas, Texas suburb, U.S.A. in October (ACC) Sacrament, Resistance, Sanctuary, to be held in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A. in November (CTA)  2nd Forum of the People of God, to be held in Aparecida, Brazil in November (GCN) To all Reform Organizations We see our task is to gather together what's happening globally with all the reform organizations and publicize your activities and projects. All that you are doing is intrinsically part of the Year of the Laity. As we hear from you about your various events, we will promote them throughout the world. We envision the Year of the Laity as just a beginning leading into a decade or more of the laity - of the People of God leading the way toward the future of the Church. It is time for the People of God to take their rightful place in the Church - that of active leadership, involvement in the decision-making, and allowing the voice of the Spirit speaking through the people to be heard.   Grateful to all for your participation, Rene Reid CCRI Director

Wars, violent conflicts main drivers of human trafficking, says nuncio Nov 28, 2017 by Catholic News Service

https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/wars-violent-conflicts-main-drivers-human-trafficking-says-nuncio

UNITED NATIONS — "As long as wars and conflicts rage, "trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation, forced labor and similar crimes will continue to flourish," said the Vatican's nuncio to the United Nations.

"To eradicate trafficking in persons, we must confront all its economic, environmental, political, and ethical causes, but it is particularly important to prevent and end the wars and conflicts that make people especially vulnerable to being trafficked," Archbishop Bernardito Auza said."

GIVING TUESDAY: Support Equality for Women and Men in the Roman Catholic Church and Beyond.

GIVING TUESDAY: support equality for women and men in the Roman Catholic Church and beyond.

Please donate at www.arcwp.org on the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests website. PLEASE SHARE widely and thank you always for your prayers for our success in creating equality in our church. Over 300 hundred women and men are members of the international movement to reform the priesthood.  Thanks so much, Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests

The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP) prepare and ordain qualified women and men to serve the people of God as priests.

arcwp.org

NEW Inclusive Lectionary Developed by Jane Via RCWP and Nancy Corran Offered by Women's Ordination Conference

The Women's Ordination Conference is offering an Inclusive Lectionary for download that was developed by  Jan Via and Nancy Corran. Below is more information about this exciting new resource.  You can get more information about downloading it at https://www.inclusivelectionary.org/.  

The first purpose of this lectionary is to include every significant story about women in the Bible not included in the canonical Sunday lectionary.

• Every gospel text about women not included in the canonical lectionary is added.
• Every New Testament text about women outside of the gospels not included in the canonical lectionary is added, i.e. from Acts, the Epistles, Pastoral Letters and Revelation/Apocalypse).
• Texts about significant women in the Hebrew Bible not included in the canonical lectionary are added.

The second purpose of this lectionary is to eliminate exclusive language for God and human beings. Masculine language for God is often substituted with gender neutral words for God and, when the original Biblical language warrants it, with feminine words for God.

The third purpose of this lectionary is to expose and/or familiarize believers with the entire spectrum of Biblical readings and history, from the foundational stories of the Hebrew Bible to the end of the New Testament period where doctrinal or dogmatic interests do not dictate text selection.

The fourth purpose of this lectionary is to educate believers to the broad spectrum of Biblical theologies.

The fifth purpose of this lectionary is to select passages from Biblical books which honor the most important literary and theological contributions of the writers, especially the Evangelists.

This lectionary is a comprehensively inclusive lectionary with texts rendered in inclusive language.

Jennifer O'Malley, RCWP

jomalley72@gmail.com

Giving Tuesday: Support People's Catholic Seminary:A Journey to Spiritual Transformation and Equality, Offering New Affordable Master of Pastoral Ministry in Partnership with Global Ministries University

https://pcseminary.org/

Please support People's Catholic Seminary on Giving Tuesday. PCS is a charitable organization and your tax deductible contribution will be used to provide low cost contemporary theology courses. Visit our website at www.pcseminary.org. 
Contributions can be sent to PO Box 421, Watervliet, NY 12189. Donations can be sent to People's Catholic Seminary ( a 501-c-3 non-profit)

NEW ​

Master of Pastoral Ministry Degree

Global Ministries University (GMU) and People’s Catholic Seminary (PCS) are collaboratively offering a Master in Pastoral Ministry degree. The degree is granted by GMU and PCS is providing the course of study. This affordable master’s program is designed for those who are walking the pathway to ordination, the ordained, and members of our inclusive communities who seek to continue their education within an interactive supportive seminary environment. Credit is awarded for life experience and previous education. Global Ministries University is an accredited member of the International Association of Distance Learning. 

Scholarship Funds are available through the Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship Fund for Women Discerning Priestly Ordination. An application form can be found at:
 http://www.womensordination.org/programs/scholarship/

For more information about the degree, please contact Bridget Mary Meehan and Mary Theresa Streck at peoplescatholicseminary@gmail.com.

Upper Room Liturgy - November 26, 2017

Sunday, November 26^th -  Final Sunday of Liturgical Year A

Debra Trees, ARCWP, and Pat Gumson lead the Upper Room Inclusive Catholic Community Liturgy with the theme: Celebrating our oneness in the Cosmic Christ. Deb’s and Pat's reflections are below followed by a reading from Integral Christianity by Paul R. Smith.

Welcome: As we come to the end of the Liturgical Year, and go forward in preparation for what is to come, let us be in this space of knowing and awareness that has been so graciously gifted to us.

Opening Song: God Beyond All Names     https://youtu.be/1k0y3jDgO5k

Reflection by Deb Trees

You may have noticed that the second half of the gospel was not included in today’s reading. The scholars of the Jesus Seminar unanimously consented to the idea that this Non-parable, is not attributable to Jesus, but maybe to one of his followers, many years after his lifetime here. The concept of a ruling King and God in the sky are contemporary to Jesus’s time and place.

The idea of oneness of me with you sounds like Jesus’s teaching. Perhaps, we are continuing to get it a little at a time; to see ourselves in each other; to know that God is loving and the opposite of punitive. Perhaps we are continuing the progression of life-long, eon-long learning to slowly understand what Jesus tried to teach us two thousand years ago: “I am in You, and You are in Me”, and we are in each other:  A spark of the divine.

Reflection by Pat Gumson

Last Sunday, when Deb asked me to preside with her, I experienced many emotions all at once....surprise, almost shock, honor and fear....that I am not ready.    But it was an invitation, an opportunity I did not want to refuse.  I believe that opportunities are a lot like new born babies, they often arrive full of promise, but at unexpected, inconvenient times.

This Thanksgiving weekend in my little house I was feeding 22 with 9 sleeping over . .

The traditional gospel reading has some uncomfortable language about judgement, "separating the sheep from the goats", but the words "Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” speaks to me as a reference to eternal Christ Consciousness.  The next lines "I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me " reminded me of Richard Rohr's statement, "God is hidden in plain sight, yet religion seems determined to make it more complex." God is right there in front of you. Jesus is mystically saying that his divinity is in the hungry, the thirsty in everyone.

As for those who did not feed the hungry, etc.,  perhaps God was not so much turning them away as they were turning away from God  ... failing to see the divine in the human..  reminds me of the words of Marianne Williamson, "We are not punished FOR our sins , but By our sins"

Jesus was saying that how we treat others is how we treat him because we are all a spark, a fractal of his divinity. We are icons of the invisible Divine.

Traditional religion hid God in plain sight and suppressed our divine identity due to its' own lack of comprehension and a need to maintain power and control over the people.

How will we honor the divine in ourselves and in others?

Closing Song: O Great Love, by Jan Novotka

https://youtu.be/erojwyuCPGw

 Integral Christianity: Owning Our Divinity by Paul R. Smith

As I am writing today, I am reminded that this week is my birthday.  At least, it is my birthday into this body and dimension. My deepest, highest, truest Self was never born and will never die.  I can say with Jesus, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Before my parents were born, I am. The same “I Am” that was in Jesus is also in me.  The same mind of Christ that was in Jesus is also in me.  It is a truly happy birthday realization.

I insist upon the theme of Jesus’ divinity and ours because that is the only path that Christians can follow to the ultimate goal of the nonduality which Jesus called “the Kingdom of God” – identification and union with God.

The traditional church believes in original sin.  The postmodern church believes in original goodness.  The integral church believes in original divinity!

These are the inspired words of Paul Smith and the community affirms them by saying, AMEN.