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Our Business Sponsors
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For your real estate needs in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, or across the country contact SHOP AT |
Join our sacred gathering on Sundays normally at 6 PM at the Annapolis Friends Meeting at 351 Dubois Road, Annapolis, Maryland 21401.
Click here for directions.
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When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it.
Eleanor Roosevelt
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September 8, 2013
Twelfth Sunday
on the Path of Awe & Wonder
Sacred Gathering at 6 PM
Annapolis Friends Meeting
351 Dubois Road, Annapolis
Reflection by the Rev. Dr. Wayne Schwandt
Gathering Leaders:
Set-up/Put-away: Sylvia Oliva
Greeter/Usher: Rachel Welch
Reader/Communion Assistant: Adri Eathorne
Offering Invitation: Rick Dove
Community Hour Hosts: Kim Hinken & Adri Eathorne
Co-creating a Progressive Christian Spirituality
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RSVP no later than Saturday, Sept. 7th
to join us in our
15th Anniversary Celebration Dinner
September 14, 2013
Come celebrate with us the Fifteenth Anniversary of the founding of Evolve Chesapeake Creation Spirituality Community by our Pastor Wayne Schwandt. Join us as we mark this very important moment in the life of our community:
Saturday, September 14, 2013: a celebratory dinner 7 PM at West End Grill, 2049 West Street, Annapolis, MD 21401. If you would like to attend the Anniversary Dinner, please send a check for $40 per person by September 7th to Evolve Chesapeake, PO Box 6159, Annapolis, MD. Contact Beth Lanier at MusicLanier@gmail.com f or more information.
Sunday, September 15, 2013: a special com- memoration during our Sacred Gathering 6 PM at Annapolis Friends Meeting and a celebration of new members.
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September Covenant Dates
Birthdays, Anniversaries, Covenant Dates
September 4 Karl D. Walker death (2008) September 11 Marvin Roger Woods death (2001) September 13 Janice Creamer & Cherly Lanore Civil Union September 15 Laura Cooper Birthday September 17 Rick Stewart Birthday September 19 Dennis L. Myers death (2011) September 20 Justin Michael Abell Birthday (2001) September 23 William E. Riley Birthday (d. 1999) September 28 Glen O. Van Steenburg death (1999)
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FROM G.A.I.N. (Greater Annapolis Interfaith Network):
Mt. Zion United Methodist Church
612 2nd St. in Eastport
is Hosting its
First Annual Pet Blessing Ceremony
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013 at 10 A.M.
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"The Peaceable Kingdom" by Edward Hicks
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Everyone is welcome to bring their pets to receive a blessing. We ask that all pets be on a leash, in a crate or in a carrier. Also, owners are welcomed to bring photos of pets that are unable to attend. Rain or Shine. Free will offer- ing. Call 410-268-5638 for further information.
"So God made the wild animals, the tame animals, and all the small crawling animals to produce more of their own kind. God saw that this was good." Genesis 1:25
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YOU'RE WELCOME TO OPEN ARMS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
Open Arms is a lively discussion group that meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30, usually at the homes of various Companions. We typically share a meal, often provided by the host (or carry-out), and then watch a video that leads into a discussion of the topic presented on the video. Over the years these groups have included reading and discussing a book of the Bible, watching the Living the Questions series, etc. and sharing about our lives. Discussion, fun, and getting to know each other better are always part of the evening. Contact Pastor Wayne for more information at SchwandtW@aol.com.
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From Erine Sedicum
a poem she wrote on June 27th, 2001  | Statue with Mirror Face
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Somehow in madness
Life makes some sense
WE learn and grow
By means that may be
difficult to understand
by other people.
Don't condemn someone
until you understand
what their world is.
The Fact remains
their world is unique
so are WE.
That's what is so great
about life.
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Rosh Hashanah
 | The shofar is blown:
a spiritual wake-up call |
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is celebrated this year from sundown September 4th to nightfall September 6th. The Hebrew date for Rosh Hashanah is 1 Tishrei 5774.
In the Jewish oral tradition, Rosh Hashanah marks the completion of the creation of the world. It is also considered the new year of people, animals and legal contracts.
Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days and is followed 10 days later by Yom Kippur, the "Day of Atonement." The Mishnah refers to Rosh Hashanah as the "Day of Judgment," as it is believed that God opens the Book of Life on this day and begins to decide who shall live and who shall die. The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are viewed as an opportunity for Jews to repent (teshuvah, in Hebrew) and ensure a good fate.
Shana tovah u'metukah, a common greeting on Rosh Hashanah is Hebrew for "a good and sweet new year," and traditional sweet foods such as apples and honey, raisin challah, honey cake and pomegranate, are eaten.
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WOMEN'S SPIRITUALITY GROUP MEETS
We are meeting at 7 pm at Kathy Baker's home in Edgewater. Our focus is on ways of connecting to the Divine. Each meeting, several topics about spirituality and women are discussed, and a different form of meditation is shared in order to learn about it and try it out.
If you would like to join the group, please email Kathy Baker at k3b@comcast.net.
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FROM GAIN (GREATER ANNAPOLIS INTERFAITH NETWORK):
Eastport United Methodist Church to
Sponsor Program on New Health Care Law
Saturday, September 14 at 2 PM
Major provisions of the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") will be implemented beginning January 1, 2014. Marian Callaway, Director of Communications of Health Care Access Maryland, will make a presentation on the topic, "The Affordable Care Act: What You Need to Know Now", on Saturday, September 14 at 2 p.m. at Eastport United Methodist Church, 926 Bay Ridge Avenue, in Annapolis. The program, which is being organized by Eastport United Methodist Men, will address these issues:
- How will my insurance work if I am 65 or older?
- How will my insurance work if I am under 65 and my employer currently offers insurance?
- What happens if my employer does not currently offer insurance?
- How does the "individual mandate" work?
- How will my health care premiums and coverage change?
- What will be the impact of the Affordable Care Act on the deficit?
A large part of the program will be reserved to answering questions of those who attend. The program is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
For more information, call 410-263-5490.
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Therefore, somehow, we have to learn to get our satisfaction and our joy in faithfulness and in our intimate relationship with Christ. Then the question of effectiveness and success, in the usual sense of those terms is not the issue. We can transcend that and get energized and nourished by faithfulness knowing we are doing what we must do to live--not what we must do to change the neighborhood. The constant struggle is the deepening of faith that enables us to really trust that somehow the whole show is going to come off right in God's timing.
- Gordon Cosby, Co-founder and pastor of Church of the
Saviour in Washington, DC. Excerpt is from "Spiritjuality
and Community: Reflections on Evil and Grace"
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Recollections from the ChristPath Seminar
June 2013, from Sylvia's notes: 7th & Final Part
Tidbits from the Trialogue with Drs. Harvey, Fox and Chilton
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Drs. Matthew Fox, Bruce Chilton and Andrew Harvey
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The Psalms: They are the "juices" of mysticism and were much a part of Jesus' life. In them are all the four paths: Via Positiva, Via Negativa, Via Creativa, and Via Transforma- tiva.
What do we Do with Outrage?:
Aquinas wrote: "Nothing great happens without anger." Anger is an energy we should deal with. It can be turned into an art form, an art action. God is energy and passion. We can use our anger in a non-violent way. We need to recover our lower chakras, to feel when we get a kick in the gut. Passivity is a sin. Suffering has to be borne. Jesus was "moved in his bowels," according to the Greek word. Its feminine counterpart is the "womb," and both are the source of anger and the source of compassion. Repressing anger makes bad stuff: pollution, etc. Anger and compassion both need to focus our efforts. Why are we paralyzed and depressed? It is the result of repressing our anger. Anger is the expression of the awakened, enlightened heart. The awakened heart is not only peaceful but passionately outraged. Anger is being repressed by the Machine. Anger need expression to be transmuted into sacred action.
Another useful practice we can do: Imagine Jesus in front of me. Imagine my heart opens with outrage. Gold and black lava pour out of my heart. Gold is the anger born out of love; black is the anger born out of fear. Jesus takes everything, all my outrage, into his heart, and when this flows out of his heart it is purified.
"Before Abraham was, I Am": means that Divine humanity is prior to Abraham (Abraham understood as universal humanity). This event was when Moses was at the burning bush where God revealed God's name: Yahweh. Yahweh, or "I Am" means "I shall be what I shall be"--giving it the most unlimited form of "to be," giving it POTENTIAL. "I Am" is the original, eternal Blessing. The Big Bang takes flesh in Jesus. "In the beginning was the Word."
We try to avoid sin: it's mostly repetitive and boring! We do not trust that God is with us in our emotions. This is what the creed of Original Sin has done to us. It is Augustine's teaching that our human nature is sinful by the act of procreation! About our repetitive, boring sins, we may tell ourselves, for example: "The thing I'm not going to do is have this [sinful] thought!" Well, that's not going to work. The thing to do is actually have the thought, do it quickly instead and get it over! Discernment (our lights) comes into play here.
The Cosmic Christ: is the light in every being, micro and macro. Let oneself be penetrated by science. A photon is both a flow and a particle, and light is both a wave and a particle. Jesus is a wave (historical person) and a particle. The Cosmic Christ is also the wounds in all things, the suffering of the world. The crucifixion is a cosmic event, a cosmic rupture from injustice. Read Matthew 25: the Christ is in every wounded, needy human being and in every living being. This is compassion.
Living in the Now: The Kingdom is now as well as eschato- logical. The Kingdom of God is the Rule of Creation. In the Emmaus story two things happen: 1) The disciples' eyes are opened and they know it's Jesus, and 2) Jesus immediately disappears. Allow myself to melt into the energy of God. Allow my community to melt into the energy of God. Embody the peace of Christ and the dynamic energy of Christ. Peace has silence and is the base. Energy is movement and is the outpouring which never runs out.
God is an evolutionary fire and force: Christ is seeding this force. We need to take risks to co-create our world/kingdom. First comes chaos, then evolution. Honor chaos; be at home in chaos.
The war has already been won. Our job is to turn up and do the work. We can risk because we have security in Christ. Jesus did not die for our sins; he rose from death for our sins.
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Support our Local Food Bank
Help those in need by bringing to our Sunday gathering, an item or two for the local food bank when you are able. Most welcome are pantry staples: tinned meat and fish, boxed pasta products, infant formula, etc. and personal care products such as laundry detergent, toilet paper, disposable razors, bath and shower soap, dish soap, toothpaste, deodorant, and feminine hygiene products. Collection is ongoing every Sunday.
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We've earned $1,586.66 so far!
We invite you to help us:
Do you use iGive.com to shop online?
If you answered "no" to one or both of those questions, you are missing out on donations to help fund our ministry. Talk with Pastor Wayne if you need technical assistance under- standing how to do these passive donation options for YOUR community.
Other Ways to Support our Ministry:
Books for sale at our Welcome Table
Titles by Matthew Fox, John Shelby Spong,
Marcus Borg, and others, and
Rick Dove's cards with beautiful nature photos: See below one of his photos.
And remember, your used cell phones and empty ink jet and toner cartridges can also help fund our ministry. These items fit nicely in the offering basket along with remembrance of time and talent you have offered to our ministries and your financial gifts. Bring them to Gathering with you.
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Photograph by Rick Dove, who has a large selection of his nature photography for sale at Evolve Chesapeake:
5" x 7" photocards @ $3 and matted photographs @ $10.
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Thank you from the Editor
Thank you to all who are making this newsletter a vehicle for sharing--a letter to the editor, an article you wrote, some news you feel is important for us to know, a poem you wrote or discovered, a song or piece of music that speaks to you, a book review, a photo you want to share, a link to a video, etc. Keep them coming to EvolveSylvia@gmail.com.
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You can become an individual member of Creation Spirituality Communities or sign up as a participant in the online
community for free. Join our online community, Chesapeake Creation Spirituality Community and take part in the discussion. You can get more informa- tion and/or sign up by clicking on the following link:
www.CreationSpirituality.info
NOTE: This website is well worth checking out, with its interesting videos of Matthew Fox and others describing various facets of Creation Spirituality. There is also news of upcoming conferences and much more.
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AWE & WONDER:
Richard Roshi John Tim
Randy Mary Andre Matthew Dave Evolve Chesapeake
Oscar Scott watermelon Tony Nancy Terry Andre rainbows
waterfalls autumn leaves
a tiny seed kids
Spencer Finlandia laughter
The Chesapeake Bay Ellen Rosanna sexuality spider webs Suzie Kathy sunrise Charlie
Michael Donna Rick
Regina Wayne this very moment
Chuck liberation Alvin gladiolas bravery
stars Rick Beth Sylvia
Tom Erine fireflies
the beach snowflakes Steve
aurora borealis sweet-smelling hay
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Please visit our website:www.EvolveChesapeake.com and other interesting websites under Quick Links in the sidebar on the left.
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