A conference of religious progressives in Australia and the South Pacific. "Living the Progressive Religion Dream" MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA 15-18 APRIL 2010
The Common Dreams 2 conference draws together people from Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the world to explore ways that progressive religion including progressive expressions of other religious traditions besides Christianity can contribute positively to the common good, so that religion enhances human life rather than diminishes it.
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
February 2009
Monthly President's notes, book picks, special articles, music suggestions, and ponderings.
To have TCPC President, Fred Plumer, lead a workshop in your area, please email TCPC at center@tcpc.org.
Quote: "Let's take a huge leap forward by channeling our energy towards ending poverty and war, with the sort of courage and empathy that Jesus fought inequality. Let's stride forward with a massive celebration of diversity and love that shatters fear, bigotry and superficial boundaries of difference. Fight poverty, wage peace, and let same sex couples say "I do". The Christian tradition requires nothing less than the full equality of all people, a full hearted celebration of all loving relationships. The Christian tradition supports it. Your own conscience demands it." ~Ian Lawton, from Prop 8 and Progressive Christianity
Common Dreams 2 Conference, Melbourne, Australia April 15-18, 2010 more info
Pluralism Sunday May 2, 2010!Sign up today! More info at PluralismSunday.org
This months eBulletin: Sex in Progressive Christianity, Everything from Sacred Sex to Gay Rights. sign up here
"I am a Progressive Christian, and proud of it... and I personally have no intentions of re-writing Christianity... but rather, the progressive movement for me is about getting back to what Christianity should be, at it's core. A movement of acceptance, love, tolerance, beauty, peace, and uniqueness under God. These things are often thrown out of the Christian mainstream churches of today, in favor of intolerance, judgment, and sometimes even hate -- a place where people are controlled by other people's way of thinking. I just wanted to say that I'm thankful for finding the TCPC. I worship in a progressive community because of TCPC (I found my church through TCPC), I've discovered I'm not alone through TCPC..."~Adalynn Siemens More Testomonials and feedback- wondering why we do what we do? Start Here.
Can anyone help??
"Hi, I live just outside of Jerusalem, I am a progressive christian, I have seached for affiliates in Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey,etc. I have not found a single one! Is there any chance that you can point me in the right direction for some fellowship with likeminded people, be they progressive Muslims, Jews, or Christians."email us center@tcpc.org if you can
Monthly Featured Organizational Affiliate
Umstead Park United Church of Christ, Raleigh, NC
Beckoned to this place of belonging, we, of Umstead Park United Church of Christ, with body, mind, and spirit, gather to worship, serve, and proclaim God, unknowable mystery whose center is love, and Jesus the Christ, who makes this loving mystery known. With inarticulate words and unfinished lives, we yearn to further embody this holy love, shaping the future as partners with God, who dances and weeps with us along the way.
Article Wild Feminine
By
Sea Raven
Text: Luke 7:36-8:3; 1 Kings 21:1-21; 2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15; Galatians 2:15-21 The woman with the alabaster jar appears in all four gospels. She is unnamed in the three synoptics, but the writer of John’s Gospel says... MORE
Article Affirming Acceptance
By
Don Murray
There was Jay, welcoming people with a smile and exuding a joie de vivre that spread throughout the group gathering for worship at St. Andrew’s United Church last Sunday (May 10). This was a special Sunday. Not only was it Mother’s... MORE
Article(order of service/liturgy) Sacred Marriage, Sacred Sex, Sacred Text- the Song of Solomon
By
Sea Raven
The Song of Solomon would never have become sacred scripture if it had not been interpreted as allegory. In the traditional Jewish understanding, the Song recounts God’s love for Israel and the history of their relationship. For Christians... MORE
Worship Material(order of service/liturgy) Is That You God?
By
Jim Burklo
(This will appear this week on the www.patheos.com interfaith website - as my response to a challenge to bloggers to answer the question "Who/What Is God?" in 100 words or less. I'd love to see your responses to this challenge!)... MORE
Article What Have We Done?
By
Fred Plumer
I do not think that very many people believe that we have a very healthy attitude towards human sexuality in the Western World today, especially in the USA. Twenty minutes of television will generally demonstrate that sad truth. The great... MORE
Book From History To Mystery, The Life And Teachings Of The Historical Jesus
By
Lisa A Morris
This book explores the quest for the Historical Jesus and seeks to discover the original meanings of his teachings, in particular his kingdom of God teachings. You will learn about the last 200 years of Jesus research, including the Jesus Seminar.... MORE
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Article New Report: More Sex in the Pulpit
From religiondispatches.org. By Jeanne Carstensen. While religious conservatives are vocal on issues of sexuality—from pre-marital sex to masturbation to abortion—progressive religious leaders have largely ‘abstained’... MORE
Book Sexual Liberation-The Scandal of Christendom
By
Raymond J. Lawrence
Raymond J. Lawrence Jr. This is powerful book if you want to get an overview of the Christian influence on today’s sexual ethics and sexuality. Sexual Liberation is mostly an account of how wrong Christianity has been about sex... MORE
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Article(study/discussion guide) A Sample Lesson on Humility from the TCPC Children's Curriculum
By
Lorna Knox
This is a lesson on Humility from our Children's Curriculum that we are creating! You can find more information here. ... MORE
Article The Path of Jesus Means Inclusion of All
By
Ronald Sparks
Jesus, obviously, saw everyone as "being created in The Imagio Dei" ("The Image and Likeness of God"). He saw everyone as having worth and dignity before God. He proclaimed that we possess these attributes not because of who we are, or... MORE
Article The Bible and Homosexuality- A Faithful Look
By
Lea Mathieu
Too many Christians blindly accept that the Bible condemns homosexuality, but rarely are the few verses that do so discussed in their textual and cultural settings. The author, a United Church of Christ minister, investigates the small print... MORE
Article Proposition 8 and Christianity
By
Ian Lawton
Early Christian writers celebrated the loving, same sex relationship of two Roman soldiers who were also Christian martyrs, Sergius and Bacchus. Documents from the 10th and 11th centuries reveal that the Christian church devised same... MORE
Leading international human rights organization Survival International opens office in Berkeley, CA
Survival has now opened a US office in order to reach the many US individuals interested in and supportive of tribal peoples and the many contemporary issues that they face. Situated in the David Brower Center, Berkeley, California, it is well placed to reach the many US supporters. Run by Tess Thackara, the office will focus on initiatives to encourage support for tribal peoples and their movement towards self-determination. To learn more about Survival's work, visit http://www.survivalinternational.org/
Friends of Christian Pluralism: It's time to put Pluralism Sunday on our calendars! - and spread the word to as many churches as we can, to increase participation.....
Corporate polluters are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to block progress on clean energy jobs, independence from fossil fuels and efforts to fight global warming.
Faith Leaders: Immigration System Tears Families Apart
By Michelle A. Vu|Christian Post Reporter. Faith leaders ranging from evangelical to Jewish came together Wednesday to launch a nationwide mobilization of people of faith to call for immigration reform that does not tear families apart.
One day he's dissing gay activists as immoral "buggers" and perhaps the "greatest threat" to the nation. Then, he's embracing anti-discrimination legislation and conceding the "right" gay residents have to job and housing protections. What swayed state Sen. Chris Buttars? His church.
For years, James Dobson has been the voice and face of Focus on the Family. Now, as he steps aside, his successor on FoF’s daily radio show, Jim Daly, will be bringing a softer voice, and a wider agenda, to the program and the organization. Daly will almost certainly keep up an anti-gay stance on the show, but says he wants to move FoF away from making abortion and same-gender marriage the central issues of the organization.
Religious Leaders Urge Obama to Condemn Ugandan Anti-Gay Bill at Prayer Breakfast
From religiondispatches.org Obama is scheduled to address the National Prayer Breakfast, organized by ‘The Family,’ which has ties to the ‘kill-the-gays’ bill in Uganda. Religious leaders, including a member of the president's faith-based Advisory Council, are calling on the president to condemn homophobia and offer an alternative, inclusive prayer event.
