ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life
* * *
Summary for December 1, 2019
* * *
Dear Folks -
We have picked two additional times to show the documentary film “American Heretics.” In order to publicize it as widely as possible we have scheduled this for next week and not this one. The dates and times are Tuesday, December the 10th at 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. in J204, which is upstairs in the Jones Building.
This coming week in Ordinary Life Chris Newlin will be presenting a program -
Moral Failings: Why Religion and Politics Are Tearing Us Apart.
I heard Chris present this program recently and was so impressed I asked him if he could come and present it to Ordinary Life. I promise you it is most valuable and educational to hear.
Holly and I will co-teach again on December 22. Our topic is “Holding Hands in the Dark.” It was inspired by, among other things, one of my favorite Christmas carols - “In The Bleak Midwinter.”
The Ordinary Life Christmas party is Friday, December 20. Details on the Ordinary Life website.
In the talks being offered in Ordinary Life I am being guided by the documents “Reclaiming Jesus” and “Charter for Compassion.” You can find both of these on the Ordinary Life website. I chose this week as a time to offer my understanding of a phrase that I think is important if people are going to use Jesus and his teachings as a guide to navigate these prickly times. What does it mean to be “in Christ”?
In my opinion the church’s obsession with cosmological dualism and individual salvation are offensive in the face of the issues that are pressing down upon us. What we are learning from evolutionary cosmology is about paradox and harmony. A favorite line of mine from the poet Basho is, “Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. See what they sought. Your experiential identity of who you are in Sacred Mystery is all that matters. I use the metaphor of entering a river as a way to think about what it might mean to take another and deeper step into the sacred. I called the talk -
Shall We Gather At The River?
That is a very brief summary of the talk I offered this week in Ordinary Life. As is often the case, I think the audio version is better than the text from which I spoke.
You can read or download the text from which I spoke, view the presentation slides, and listen to the audio of the talk using the links below.
If you are reading this, I want you to know how grateful I am for and to you.
Be well and much love,
Bill Kerley
In order to read or download the text of the talk, click here.
In order to view or download the presentation slides, click here.
In order to listen to or download the audio version of the talk, use the link below.