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
December 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:"If you want to shake whatever separates you from The holiness you want to make your life on earth become Live your life with a compassion you can be proud of Then let your last breath fade away with dignity and love" ~Mirah, from "While We Have the Sun"
"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.
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.
We come together as travelers on a journey, each bringing our unique histories, traditions, and stories of faith, and we prayerfully establish this covenant, seeking:
A closer communion with God,
A more intimate community with one another, and
A committed, mutual relationship with the wider world
Article Four Historic Intellectual and Cultural Sensibilities- Negotiating the Religious, Secular, Eclectic and Integral Perspectives
By: Rich Lang. It seems to me that one might find folks who have a “dialectical relationship” with any two, three or four of these historical sensibilities and value orientations within progressive Christianity. I’m... MORE
Worship Material(order of service/liturgy) WSCF Universal Day of Prayer
First celebrated in 1898, the Universal Day of Prayer for Students is observed on the third Sunday of February; in 2010 it is celebrated on February 21st. The UDPS is one of the oldest ecumenical days of prayer. In line with WSCF's theme... MORE
Article Two Kinds of Evangelism
By
Chuck Queen
There are two vastly different Christian approaches to evangelism being practiced today. One can be described as inclusive and invitational; the other is dualistic and confrontational.... MORE
Sermon Sermon Should Religious Progressives Still Speak of "Sin"?
By: Rev. David McClean. “Sin” is not a word about problems with our body images or our bad relationships or our tempers or our spending habits, and how we can, in some piecemeal way, fix them. It isn’t a word about specific... MORE
Article Not the Easy Way
By
Fred Plumer
The ultimate problem for most of the early theologians was their need to identify Jesus as a divine messiah sent by an intervening God to save humanity from humanity’s God-given nature. Rather than accepting Jesus as a profound... MORE
Article Drop The Stone
By
Scott Robinson
There is a kind of moral rigidity that is the province of youth. The less experience one has of the slings and arrows, the easier it is to see the world in primary colors; a sense of moral nuance, like an eye for tints and shades, takes... MORE
Book Praying A New Story
By
Michael Morwood
In this invigorating, poetic and imaginative paperback, Morwood shares prayers that can be used in small groups that reflect a fresh and bold reframing of Christian views of God, the universe, Jesus, the Spirit, and holidays such as Christmas,... MORE
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Sermon What About Sin?
Obviously how we think about sin changes how we think about repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation. If we understand sin to be primarily personal… the burden is on us individually to change our behavior. Change in personal... MORE
Sermon A Voice in the Wilderness
By
Sea Raven
The underlying assumption in this study of Luke (and eventually Acts and the authentic letters of Paul) is that Luke wrote his gospel and his account of the Acts of the Apostles as a subversive counter to Roman oppression, and the Roman imperial... MORE
Educational Material Servant or Sucker? Wise and Compassionate Ways to Help the Poor, A DVD
No one wants to be a sucker in these situations but at the same time Jesus’ call to help the poor echoes in our hearts and minds. Servant or Sucker? Wise and Compassionate Ways to Help the Poor helps viewers discern appropriate, Christ-centered... MORE
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Book Thank God for Evolution
By
Michael Dowd
"The science vs. religion debate is over! A path forward emerges! Michael Dowd masterfully unites rationality and spirituality in a world view that celebrates the mysteries of existence and inspires each human being to achieve a higher purpose... MORE
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The Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary is announcing a Call for Papers for the 2010 Colloquium, “Allegorical Bible 2.0: Scholarship meets Allegory, Code, and Mysticism.” The Colloquium will be held at the Universal Truth Center, Miami Gardens, Florida, May 20-22, 2010.
The 112th Universal Day of Prayer for Students will be celebrated on February 21st. The theme of the 2010 UDPS is the Federation's theme for this year - 'Climate Justice'.
Faiths unite behind health care reform, even as details are vague
From: faithinpubliclife.org. By Adelle M. Banks- RNS. As Capitol Hill appears politically paralyzed over health care reform, the prescription from many faith leaders is firm: don't abandon ship. "The faith community has worked for decades for comprehensive health care reform and this last year ... many of them have put aside other policy priorities to take this over the finish line," said the Rev. Linda Walling, executive director of Faithful Reform in Health Care, an interfaith coalition of more than 70 groups.
Clergy members and churches would not face legal consequences for refusing to perform same-sex marriages, under a state bill being pushed by supporters of gay marriage.
'Peace Prize' President Submits Largest War Budget Ever
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Monday asked Congress to approve a record $708 billion in defense spending for fiscal year 2011, including a 3.4 percent increase in the Pentagon's base budget and $159 billion to fund U.S. military missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
LGCM denounces House of Lords decision to approve amendments to the Equality Bill
Rev Sharon Ferguson, Chief Executive of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) has denounced the reactionary vote in the House of Lords to approve amendments to the Equality Bill which will enable churches and other religious bodies to discriminate in matters of employment.
Controversial Billboard Of Joseph And Mary In Bed: God 'A Hard Act To Follow'
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A billboard at a New Zealand church depicting a downcast Joseph lying beside Mary in bed and the heading "God is a hard act to follow" provoked more than the intended reconsideration of the meaning of Christmas.
A call to bring the world together…We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.
Amy-Jill Levine Lecture Series
Feb 5, 2010: University Congregational United Church of Christ
Seattle, WA MORE
Jesus Was A Liberal: Dialogue with Scotty McLennan and Jim Burklo
Feb 8, 2010: Central LA Library
Los Angeles, CA MORE
Richard Rohr-The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See
Feb 13, 2010: Church of the Beatitudes in Phoenix MORE
Bishop Spong-Beyond Theism But Not Beyond God; Jesus: Beyond Incarnation But Not Beyond Divine
Feb 20, 2010: Tempe First United Methodist Church
Tempe, AZ MORE
Fundamentals of Grant Proposal Writing Workshop
Feb 25, 2010: Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA MORE
Interspiritual Wisdom: Sharing the Mystic Heart
Feb 27, 2010: First United Lutheran Church
San Francisco, CA MORE
Bishop Spong at IUCC-"Beyond Guilt to Grace- A New Look At Jesus"
Feb 28, 2010: Irvine United Congregational Church
Irvine, CA MORE
Theology After Google- Conference
Mar 10, 2010: Claremont School of Theology
Claremont, CA MORE
Common Dreams 2-A conference of religious progressives in Australia and the South Pacific
Apr 15, 2010: St Kilda Town Hall
Melbourne, Australia MORE
Iona Pilgrimage
Jun 25, 2010: Iona, Scotland
Flat Rock, NC MORE
What is the essential difference between spiritual and religious? What can religious institutions learn from those who claim to be one and not the other? And what kind of critique can those who call themselves “religious” offer of the concept “spiritual, but not religious“? Join us as Earl Lecturers Matthew Fox, Scotty McLennan, Melissa Wilcox, and Donna Allen explore these vital questions that affect all of us who “chase the divine.” Musical performance by Linda Tillery and the Heritage Choir.
Watch our latest favorite video's here. Sermons, music videos, interviews and more!
This Months Feature Videos:
A call to bring the world together…The Charter for Compassion
Oh My God- New documentary that asks the question of people from around the world and from different belief systems- What is God?
Soon Love Soon- Vienna Teng- Waking Hour-"And we will be as one God, and we will be as one people. Soon, love, soon. We will find illumination in the natural light. We will know the fate of one is the fate of all."
Alexi Murdoch- Something Beautiful- "May the grace of God be with you, always in your heart, may you know the truth inside you from the start, may you find the strength to know you are a part of something beautiful."
