THE CENTER FOR PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY

Momentum for Pluralism Sunday growing!
PLURALISM SUNDAY MAY 27, 2007

universe within The Center for Progressive Christianity, (TCPC.ORG) a national network of 370 affiliated congregations of many denominations, will be celebrating the diversity of the world's religions on PLURALISM SUNDAY, May 27, 2007.  Churches are participating in the event in a variety of ways, exploring and sharing the spiritual riches of other faiths.  Churches are inviting people of other faiths to preach, including elements of other religious traditions in their worship services, and offering study groups and other events.  Their message:  one does not need to believe that Jesus is the only way to God in order to be a Christian, and that Christian faith is deepened by learning about other religions. 

"There is a big difference between respectful politeness and an open-hearted, open-minded approach to people of other religious beliefs. There is a profound contradiction in claiming to have faith in a God who is greater than our ability to fully comprehend, and at the same time claiming that traditional Christianity is the only true faith in that God... We are called to worship God, not Christianity. What is divine is our encounter with God, something that is available to Christians and non-Christians alike." Rev. Jim Burklo, coordinator, Pluralism Sunday, Open Christianity, 2000
WORKSHOP

May 5, 2007
Napa, CA

Led by:
Fred Plumer
President of TCPC
 Fred Plumer

What: "Capturing the Progressive Christian Spirit in your local Church"

Where: The First United Methodist Church of Napa

 When: Saturday May 5th, 9AM-4PM

Are you interested in catching the Progressive Christian Spirit in your church?

Rev. Fred Plumer has been interested in finding ways to grow churches since his early years as a new start pastor in Irvine, California, twenty five years ago. He has led successful church growth workshops for over a decade and now travels the country sharing information about the exciting progressive Christian movement.


Saturday's workshop will focus on three areas:

What is happening in the Progressive Christian movement today?

What is the emerging Progressive Spirituality?

How does the local church tap into the Progressive Spirit?

 
First United Methodist Church of Napa

625 Randolph Street

Napa, California  94559

(707) 253-1411

www.napaumc.org
Pluralism Links
RESOURCES
SERMON 1
SERMON 2
SERMON 3
SERMON 4
TCPC
NETWORK OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESSIVES
CROSS LEFT
CROSSWALK AMERICA
What Can I do to Help TCPC?

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Contact us at center@tcpc.org to find out about volunteer opportunities.

Forward this email to friends and organizations that might be interested.

Keep the TCPC website active by adding library items, events, articles and book reviews.
 TCPC.ORG
CELEBRATING PLURALISM SUNDAY

Buddha Statue














"Through the years I have found my own faith not threatened, but broadened and deepened by the study of Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Sikh traditions of faith. And I have found that only as a Christian pluralist could I be faithful to the mystery and the presence of the one I call God. Being a Christian pluralist means daring to encounter people of very different faith traditions and defining my faith not by its borders, but by its roots."
~Dr. Diana Eck, founder of the Pluralism Project at Harvard, A New Religious America, 2007



IDEAS FOR CELEBRATING PLURALISM SUNDAY

Each participating church is making its own unique plans for PLURALISM SUNDAY. Here are some examples:

First Congregational Church in Long Beach, CA , will have an Islamic leader as the preacher. 

Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, MI , will hold sessions in the weeks prior to PLURALISM SUNDAY to study "The Faith Club", a book by three women - a Muslim, a Jew, and a Christian - who sought to find common ground on which to share their faiths. 

University Place Christian Church in Enid, OK will use multiple languages to express the wisdom of different world religions in worship.

Mizpah United Church of Christ and Bet Shalom (Reform Jewish) Congregation in Minneapolis will have a "pulpit exchange".


For an excellent list of resources and ideas click here: RESOURCES


Click here to see the growing list of participating churches, now numbered at over 25 in over 15 states:
THOUGHTS TO PONDER

"There is no outward distinction, including between Christians and non-Christians, that ultimately separates us from each other in Spirit." 

Rev. Stephen Glauz-Todrank, Transforming Christianity



  mountains


"A Startling Vision for the 21st Century Church"
By Tom Thresher

 Now, more than ever, the West needs a mature Christianity. One that contributes moral and spiritual guidance to a world facing a multitude of crises: from terrorism to financial collapse, from poverty to global warming; from oil depletion to incessant war. Why? Because we are by nature spiritual and no solution can suffice without including the spiritual. However, a spirituality, a religion, enmeshed in literalisms and dogma cannot serve this role. The church can only speak to these crises by offering increasingly expansive perspectives on our lives and the issues of the day. And the religious traditions are best suited to inspire these expanding perspectives because they grew up with humanity and only these traditions have the legitimacy to point beyond themselves. I invite you to imagine church leaders standing side by side with leading scientists, artists, multinational executives and government leaders proffering enlightened perspectives on the issues of the day. Imagine our most visible religious spokespersons not condemning the modern world...MORE
"For the life of me...I can not imagine anything we refer to as "God" that would create religions that divide people based on beliefs about something that is unknowable."

Fred Plumer, President of The Center for Progressive Christianity
THE CENTER FOR PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY
253-303-0022
center@tcpc.org
www.tcpc.org
Fred Plumer, President