 |
|
TCPC Affiliate Events
|
Calendar
Westar- Jesus Seminar on the Road
MORE
The Basics of Progressive Christian Community
Mar 13, 2009: Hillsboro United Methodist Church
Hillsboro, OR
MORE
The Emerging Church: Conversations Convergence and Action
Mar 20, 2009: Albuqeurque, NM
MORE
Lecture with Diana Butler Bass: "After Jesus: Enacting the Great Command"
Mar 27, 2009: The Center for Spiritual Development
Portland, OR
MORE
Re-Imagining the World in Parables with Dr. Bernard Scott
Apr 3, 2009
Birmingham, AL
MORE
Pluralism Sunday: May 3, 2009
May 3, 2009: churches around the world
MORE
Decoding the Myths and Meanings of Difficult Words in the Bible
May 6, 2009
Cambridge, MA
MORE
Summer Seminar with Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan
Jun 15, 2009
Portland, OR
MORE
Chautauqua New Clergy Conference
Jun 27, 2009
Chautauqua, NY
MORE
CrossRoads in the Wilderness: Reconnecting Men, God, and Earth
Aug 7, 2009
Ward, CO
MORE
Bruce Sanguin at Hollyhock Retreat- Darwin, Divinity and the Dance of the Cosmos
Sep 18, 2009: Hollyhock Centre
MORE
|
Featured March Event
|
Fred Plumer,
TCPC President
|
March 21 at 8:30AM-12PM
Cedar Hills United Church of Christ
Portland, OR
Title: "What
is Progressive Christianity" and "Growing a
Progressive Church
in the 21st Century."
Sermon on March 22nd to follow.
|
|
Speech by President Barak Obama Given at the National Prayer Breakfast
|
 |
|
Excerpt:
"I raise this history because far too often, we have seen
faith wielded as a tool to divide us from one another-as an excuse for
prejudice and intolerance. Wars have
been waged. Innocents have been
slaughtered. For centuries, entire
religions have been persecuted, all in the name of perceived righteousness...
But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember
that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate. There is no God who condones taking the life
of an innocent human being. This much we
know.
|
|
|
Greetings!
We have all been hearing a lot about 
change lately and many of us are experiencing it. Our politicians probably droned on about it far
too long during the political campaigns. But now we are talking about changes
in our economy, changes in our health care system, changes in our financial
institutions, our educational systems and yes, we occasionally hear about
changes in our churches.
But two weeks ago I experienced a change I could not
have imagined any time in the past. I attended the Earl Lectures at Pacific
School of Religion. I have been doing this for over twenty-five years. The
lectures were established in 1901 to bring prominent religious leaders to Berkeley's university
community. These lectures have featured such internationally known figures as
Theodore Roosevelt, Elie Wiesel, Howard Thurman, Maya Angelou, Paul Tillich,
Walter Brueggemann, and Alice Walker.
So what was the surprise?
Read this article here
|
Featured Article
The Spirit of Life
Comments from the PSR
Distinguished Alum
By: Rev.
Lynice Pinkard
 Excerpt: My ongoing, daily struggle is to be both utterly
feral--undomesticatable by the forces in the world that would domesticate all
of us, defang us, render us harmless to the powers and principalities-being
utterly feral in that way, and also being utterly surrendered. You can't have
one without the other. Being undomesticatable depends on moment-to-moment
surrender to the Spirit of life and of love. The paradox is that we cannot
simultaneously surrender fully AND be in opposition to any living being.
Surrender demands love as breathing demands inhalation. At the same time, we DO
have to be in opposition to every form of domination, oppression, exploitation,
and violence-all of the forces that try to press down life...
One of the questions that I ask myself all the time and that I want to
ask you tonight is "How can I continue to shift my focus from trying to
get people to believe something they don't see, to making MANIFEST the
life, the love, the God, that people are hungry to experience?" How
must I continue to change, and urge my community to change, so that an
encounter with me and with us causes people to experience a love
against which there is no defense?"
|
Featured Blog
A Word to the Spiritual Seekers
By: Don Murray
 Perchance the Fundamentalists knew something the
rest of us didn't when, a hundred or so years ago, they laid out the "fundamentals"
of faith as a wall against the onrushing modern world.
According to the Wikipedia encyclopaedia, "The
first formulation of American fundamentalist beliefs can be traced to the
Niagara Bible Conference and, in 1910, to the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church. By the late 1910s, theological conservatives . . .
came to be known as "fundamentalists." As I understand it,
they saw Darwinism, modern biblical scholarship, and creeping secularism as a
threat to the Christian faith and drew a line in the sand.
|
Featured Sermon
Coping With Change
By: Rev. Jerry Stinson
So, what if anything does our faith say to us when we wander in the
wilderness, when the future is uncertain, when we are frightened and
anxious? In most churches, the minister would urge folks to rely on
faith, trusting God to step in and lead us in the right direction. But
my understanding of God doesn't allow for that. I don't think of God as
a supernatural being with a plan for this planet or with the ability to
bring difficult times to an end. God for me is that loving eternal
presence
underlying and pervading all of life, but not fixing things. So I can't offer you that kind of hope. Some of you radically disagree with me about that; you do believe in an
intervening God, and for you perhaps faith in that God's continuing
benevolence is the answer for coping with change. But what does my
faith, without that sense of a supernatural being, say to change? Let
me suggest five things my faith calls me to do when I'm in the
wilderness, and I hope these five things also speak to those of you
with more traditional theological understandings.
This sermon suggests that to cope with change
we must admit to being afraid and anxious and
that we cannot return to the past. To face change,
we need community, courage and a willingness
to take risks, and we must be willing to embrace
new opportunities.
|
Homilynk: A New Progressive Preaching Website
created by: David Albert Farmer, Ph.D
The progressive preaching site, "Homilynk" is a place to keep up with
the latest in the world of preaching, news and information from those
corners where fundamentalists and conservatives do not dwell and where
we hear, instead, those preachers whose theological leanings are more
aptly described as "moderate" or "progressive" or even "liberal."
click here to visit site |
|
Thank you for taking this journey with us as
we continue to encourage the growth and understanding of a Christianity that is
open, inclusive, just, loving and compassionate. As you delve deeper into
the heart of this beautiful and authentic spiritual path, we hope you share it
with those around you, educate those who desire to learn, and most importantly
let it fill you with light and loving kindness.
Sincerely,
Fred Plumer
and the Team at The Center For Progressive Christianity
center@tcpc.org, (253) 303-0022
Did you enjoy this eBulletin? Share with a friend by forwarding this
email below. Thanks!
|
|
|
