From Building the Beloved Community On May 9th through the 20th, the Rockridge Institute, together with People for the American Way, Tikkun, Christian Alliance for Progress, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Muslim Peace Fellowship and a coalition of religious organizations, will be hosting an online dialogue on religious values and progressive political debate. Also joining us in the conversation will be scholars and noted leaders in the religious and spiritual community. Progressives from all faiths and perspectives are invited to participate. We want to explore the common ground between spiritual and secular progressives-to talk about who we are and why we believe what we do. What do spiritually progressive values have to say about policy issues like the environment, healthcare and war? How do spiritual progressives frame their beliefs? What unites the progressive movement? Why has this unity been so difficult to achieve? And what action can we take to promote our shared values? More information here.

A spirited spat steals church calm Ousted nine whose politics didn't suit pastor return

I'm offering this link without comment--no time to really read and digest it before bed time, but at the moment this is the top recommended diary on Daily Kos. From the looks of it, it provides some insight into the situation at East Waynesville Baptist Church that may not be readily available from mainstream media accounts. Blog-Journalism: My Interview with Deacon at East Waynesville Baptist Church by southlib

We sure are hearing a lot of the "house divided" church and religion stories lately, aren't we? We've got East Waynesville Baptist church where the pastor allegedly kicked out 9 members because they voted for Kerry (although he now says that was a misunderstanding). We also have a diocese in Texas telling parishioners at St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church (who are unhappy about the elevation of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop, and want to disassociate from the national Episcopal Church) to leave by June 1. From the National Catholic Reporter, we learn that "Jesuit Fr. Thomas J. Reese, editor for the past seven years of America magazine, a premier publication of Catholic thought and opinion, has resigned at the request of his order following years of pressure for his ouster from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith." The new Roman Catholic Pope, Benedict XI, appears to have little tolerance for the whole idea of tolerance. In Saul Landau's recent Counterpunch article, I found this quote: "We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism," Ratzinger warned in his last homily as Cardinal, "which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires." Dictatorship of relativism? Is that sort of like a "tyranny of the minority"? In the most recent church newsletter, our rector commented on Benedict XI's disdain for "religious relativism" as well as "indifferentism", and imagined how the new pope might judge our church if he read our vision statement... Worship is our centering place and the focal point of our lives together. We worship in ways that comfort us when we need it and open us to new possibilities, inspirit us and free us. We struggle to be a multicultural, multi-generational Christian community in which each and all of us feel able and challenged to be ourselves with unvarnished authenticity and to support the authenticity of others. We wrestle with and nurture the tensions that arise from our differences such as: our conflicting impulses toward tradition or innovation in our worship; our divergent ideas of the relative authority of clergy and laity; and the competing attractions of serving and being served. We pray that St. Stephen's will be a home from which we can live out God's will for our lives. But he went on to say that what we are not indifferent, but rather "passionate about that which we know. He added, "The truth we hold out is the truth we know without condemning or belittling other truths. I find that very open and welcoming, not indifferent or relative. We are also, as I am reminded every week when I open the bulletin, an "Open Table" church, which means All people are welcome around God's table. Spiritual wisdom is revealed through many religious traditions. Our path is a commitment to understanding and following the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and discerning the meaning of the title "Messiah." No person, no sacred text, and no religious institution holds the definitive wisdom about God. Our understanding of God and the Christian faith are best served by open inquiry, scholarship, service, and worship. We are asked to seek, to love, and to serve God in all people, the communities in which we live, and the nations of the world, and perhaps especially with those with whom we seem to have the most conflict. It also means that you are welcome to share in the bread and wine of Communion, because, as a member of The Center for Progressive Christianity we Understand the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus's name to be a representation of an ancient vision of God's feast for all peoples In other words, all are welcome. Even the ones who voted for Bush.

Mother's Day Diaries Reflections on being a Mom in America by SanJoseLady Mothers Day, more than carnations by janinsanfran MY MOTHER..MY HEROINE..HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY by LOBALUNA It's Just Another Day... by Cali Scribe The Presidential Prayer Team for Kids On Mother's Day by SusanHu

Update on the East Waynesville story. Not quite sure what to make of this, but I pray for healing for all involved. Pastor Says Ouster a Misunderstanding Calling it a "great misunderstanding," the pastor of a small church who led the charge to remove nine members for their political beliefs tried to welcome them back Sunday, but some insisted he must leave for the wounds to heal. The Rev. Chan Chandler didn't directly address the controversy during the service at East Waynesville Baptist Church, but issued a statement afterward through his attorney saying the church does not care about its members' political affiliations. "No one has ever been voted from the membership of this church due to an individual's support or lack of support for a political party or candidate," he said. In other worship house divided news, TerranceDC's diary, Church Door Swings Both Ways, covers the story of an Episcopal diocese in Texas that is telling 90% of one congregation to leave: Almost 90% of the congregation at St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church in Midland, Texas, want to disassociate with the national Episcopal Church. Instead, diocese officials have given the unhappy parishioners until June 1 to leave church property.

New recommended Kos diary by AHiddenSaint about HR 235: The bill that will make us a Theocracy - HR 235

I just saw in a post on Democratic Underground that there were people on C-SPAN from a group called African American Ministers in Action. I think I missed most of the discussion, but I found their web site. Hadn't heard of this group before today, but I'm glad to know about them. And I'm really glad to see them address the following... The Black Church and the Contract with Pharaoh Anyone who celebrates the prophetic role of the Black Church in American history should be appalled at the growing phenomenon of Black pastors embracing the Bush administration and its cynical use of religion to mask policies that will further brutalize people already left behind. It is easy to understand why the President's political strategists have their eyes on the Black church. Black voters have voted in overwhelming numbers against Republican candidates in recent decades, and getting more of those votes is part of Karl Rove's plan to build a permanent Republican majority. The Black Church carries a mantle of moral authority that President Bush wants draped across his shoulders. Read the rest here.

Yesterday I posted a link to this article: Church Split In North Carolina Shows Dangers Of Partisan Politics In Pulpit, Says Americans United Click here for the official web site in support of this legislation. This page on the site could be of use to us Representatives of the 108th Congress are listed below, organized by state. Those that have registered their support for this important legislation are listed in bold. Phone numbers of each Representative are also provided. Voice your support of the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act - HR.235 by calling your representative, or by registering your personal support here on this site. Or conversely, one might use the very same list to contact our representatives and register our opposition to the bill.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, and so far I have not found the inspiration for a fitting diary. Who knows? I still might have inspiration descend upon me like a dove, but in the meantime I'm going to link to other Mother's Day diaries and articles I come across: Our Rebel Mothers - A Small History and Rememberance by tikkun Here's my Tribute to Mothers entry from last year. Please post your own favorite links, quotes, and thoughts on mothers and Mother's Day.

There is an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times today that gives some more detail about what happened at the East Waynesville Baptist Church and what the potential consequences could be. About 20 members of the 400-member East Waynesville Baptist Church voted the nine members out at a recent deacon meeting, which turned into an impromptu business meeting, according to congregants. Chan Chandler, pastor of East Waynesville Baptist, had been exhorting his congregation since October to support his political views or leave, said Selma Morris, a 30-year member of the church. “He preached a sermon on abortion and homosexuality, then said if anyone there was planning on voting for John Kerry, they should leave,” she said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard something like that. Ministers are supposed to bring people in.” Also, over at Democratic Underground, there is a link to the segment on Keith Olbermann's Countdown, where Keith interviewed a member of the congregation by phone.

Comment on the "no Dems allowed" church in North Carolina: Interfaith Alliance Deplores North Carolina Pastor Banishing Democrats Today, in response to news media reports that a North Carolina church had "excommunicated" any members who did not vote for President George W. Bush, the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of The Interfaith Alliance, issued the following statement: "This sad spectacle is the predictable consequence of the Religious Right’s insistence on measuring a person’s religion by social-political litmus tests. Not only does the pastor’s reported action violate both the spirit and substance of the United States Constitution’s provisions of religious liberty, it also offends the conscience of people who understand religion in terms of the realm of the spirit, not votes in a presidential election. "I understand the pastor called for repentance on the part of those who didn’t vote for the president. The screaming need is for repentance among those who would tie religion to partisan politics." And this is from Americans United of Separation of Church and State: "This is an outrage," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "Houses of worship exist to bring people together for worship, not split them apart over partisan politics. "I think there is an important lesson here for the whole country," Lynn continued. "Americans do not expect to be ordered to vote for certain candidates by their religious leaders." Religious Right groups have been pressing evangelical churches to get deeply involved in partisan politics, Lynn said, and this kind of controversy is the natural outcome. Lynn said matters will become even worse if a bill now pending in Congress becomes federal law. H.R. 235, a measure introduced by Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), would allow clergy to endorse candidates from the pulpit and still retain a tax exemption of their house of worship. "Introducing partisan politics into our churches is a terrible idea," said AU’s Lynn. "I hope this incident in North Carolina will cause our members of Congress to reject Rep. Jones’ bill."

Last time I checked, excommunication was just a Catholic thing. Isn't it? Last night there was a recommended diary on Daily Kos by georgia10 entitled It Begins: Dems "Excommunicated" From Church? For those that thought that there has not been a full scale war lanched against liberals; for those who didn't take the radical right's promise to "eradicate liberals" seriously, I present to you, Exhibit A: East Waynesville Baptist Church has just kicked out all its Democratic members. Yes. You read that right. If you didn't vote for Bush, you had to "repent your sin". And finally, they figured why deal with the liberal sinners at all... That sounded a little fishy, but on the other hand, I've been reading georgia10's diaries for quite a while--ever since she was writing up excellent summaries of the Ohio recount action late in 2004. I know that she is very careful about reporting responsibly. She wrote that several long time Democratic Underground members had attested to seeing news reports about what happened at East Waynesville. As those reports have become available online, georgia10 has updated her diary to add links to them. She has also put up a new action-item diary, Democratic Church Purge Part II: Action. In other news, see Ohiocrat's diary, Catholic Church Declares War on Democrats Kansas governor, Kathleen Gilligan Sebelius, was invited to give a commencement speech at her high school alma mater, Summit Country Day in Cincinnati. That is, until the Archbishop of Cincinnati, Daniel Pilarczyk, told the school to "un-invite" her. Why? Because Sebelius is pro-choice. And finally we have this from the Palm Beach Post: Diocese employee says judge in abortion case should be denied communion An employee of the Diocese of Palm Beach said Thursday that Palm Beach County Juvenile Court Judge Ronald Alvarez, a Catholic, should be denied communion for allowing a 13-year-old foster child to have an abortion. This is becoming more and more disturbing. If you are a a Democratic officeholder and person of faith, I guess you are officially "fair game" for this kind of public shaming. If you're a Republican, apparently you get a free ride. Why is that? Maybe the Democrats are not as willing to "go there" with regard to using a Republican's faith as a weapon against him or her. Who knows, maybe they actually take seriously that part where Jesus said "let he who is without sin cast the first stone". Of course, if we do get tired of taking the "high road", we might point out that there are some Methodists out there who aren't too pleased with the way George W. Bush represents his faith, and feel that he should repent... Or, on a more positive note, check out this new diary at MyDD by Jerry Meek, Dear Internet: Help Free Our Churches. ...I put out the following statement responding to press reports about the shameful activities in the Waynesville church. "One of the Bible's most repeated commands is to 'Love your neighbor.' If these reports are true, this minister is not only acting extremely inappropriately by injecting partisan politics into a house of worship, but he is also potentially breaking the law and threatening the church's 501(c)(3) non-profit status." Ok, so we put out a statement. That's great for the press. But what about everyone else? What else should we be doing? Give me your ideas about how North Carolina Democrats and citizens can free our churches. Post comments in this thread. And if you just want to show solidarity, link to this post or the North Carolina State Democratic Party site from your own blog. Wouldn't it be amazing if the internet spoke loudly and clearly about this?

Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer. Over the past month I have done a number of diaries about this topic, with the hope of encouraging a progressive, inclusive response to what has become  a very right wing, exclusive event. National Day of (Theocon) Prayer National Day of Inclusion "Under God" vs. the Golden Rule National Day of Prayer Ohio Action I have been checking the web site of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State on a fairly regular basis over the past few weeks, hoping to find that the group, led by United Church of Christ minister Barry Lynn, was planning an event for tomorrow. Today I found the following headline: Americans United Plans Oklahoma City Event To 'Let Freedom Ring' On National Day Of Prayer For too long, the National Day of Prayer has been held captive by the Religious Right. This year, Americans United for Separation of Church and State is planning a rescue. "Let Freedom Ring: A Celebration of Freedom of Conscience," an event sponsored by the Oklahoma Chapter of Americans United, will be open to Americans of all faiths - as well as those who don't pray. "America is a nation with rich diversity, and we want to celebrate that fact," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, who will be in Oklahoma City to speak at the event. "The National Day of Prayer has become an excuse for the Religious Right to practice exclusion and peddle bad history. We want to offer an alternative." The Oklahoma event, which is being cosponsored by Mainstream Baptists of Oklahoma and the Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma, will take place on the South Steps of the State Capitol in Oklahoma City on May 5 at 11 a.m. AU's Lynn is a United Church of Christ minister. Speakers from the Jewish, Islamic, Pagan and non-theistic communities will also participate. Read more here. Tomorrow is also celebrated as the National Day of Reason by a number of nontheistic groups. Find local events here. And click here for the list of National Day of Reason endorsers. My favorite group names are the Holy Church of Happy Goodtimes and the Round Earth Society. ;-) I share these links with you in honor of my favorite Atheist. Mind you, I think he was wrong about the "no God" thing. I hope he was wrong--'cause I'd really like to meet him when I get to wherever it is we are all going after this Earth gig. A couple more inclusive events I have found: City prayer breakfast will bring faiths together Day of Prayer diversifies Please share links for other events, if you know of any.

As I promised in a recent diary, I'd like to tell you a little bit about how and why I came to think of my search for my Right Path in life as playing "God's Clues." I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic schools through twelfth grade. Technically, I suppose, I went to a Catholic university, although the education there didn't seem especially religious in focus. Most of my friends there, including the one I ended up marrying, were not Catholic. But Demetrius was such a sweetheart of a guy, he agreed to have a Catholic ceremony and raise our kids in the Church. So, then, everything was settled. If You Want To Make God Laugh, Tell Him Your Plans. Sure, I'd started to question some things by the time I was in college, but my faith was a part of my identity. Later, after my grandmother died, the Catholic church took on a new signicance as a way I could still feel connected to her. It helped to be involved in a progressive (university affiliated) congregation with good music. But I did get a little concerned at the notion of trying to teach a child what I had been taught. Sure, I could reinterpret some of it so that it made sense to me, but could I explain it to my own child? Thankfully, I figured, religious education would be able to help with that. By the time our son was in kindergarten and old enough to start in the religious education program at our church, he had been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.  In school, he had an I.E.P (Individualized Education Plan), which was always a "work in progress" to some extent, but there were people we could turn to when problems came up. At church, there were no such resources, so if there were behavioral issues during Sunday school, someone would just come to get me out of the service. It got to the point where, even though I would always hope for the best, I could pretty much count on my church time being interrupted. I won't call it my "worship" time, because by that point I would take advantage of that quiet time to map out my plans for the week--jotting down little notes in the white space on the weekly bulletin. What professionals did I need to touch base with regarding my son? What books or resources might be helpful? In a last ditch effort, I tried to contact one of the priests, who also happened to be a psychologist. I had spoken to him once, and he seemed famliar with the issues. I wrote, I left phone messages, but I couldn't get a response. Finally, I stopped and thought, maybe Someone is trying to tell me something. If it was really important to God that I remain in the church, would it be this difficult? A clue! A clue! Between my daughter and my son, we'd been a Blue's Clues household for a few years already. For anyone not familiar with the show, each episode had Steve trying to figure out what his puppy Blue wanted. Either Blue lacked that special "Lassie" gift for being able to bark important information in a way that her human companions could understand, or it was because Steve was, as the actor once put it, "Not the sharpest knife in the drawer", but Blue would communicate by leaving pawprints on various clues. At the end of the show, Steve would sit in his "thinking chair" and try to piece the clues together to figure out what Blue wanted. So one day, I pondered this whimsical thought...maybe God leaves clues. Maybe God is always helping us along by leaving clues, but we often miss them, because in the grand scheme of things, we can be about as dense as Steve was on that show. Let's face it, we humans can be a pretty clueless bunch. By comparison, I was suprised when I learned that rats developed "specific hungers" for substances missing in their diets, such as salt, protein, or fat. The key experiment, the "self-selection" or "cafeteria" study, gave the rats 10 or so choices of various nutrients. Richter monitored the animals' intake of the substances as related to deficiencies in their diet. Animals deprived of vitamins in their diets would specifically seek them out when given the choice. I don't know about you, but I will readily admit to not having this kind of "food sense". I eventually concluded that at least part of the reason rats were able to outsmart us in this area is that rats generally don't watch T.V. commercials. They are not constantly exposed to major, orchestrated efforts from the outside to override what they know on the inside. Maybe there are things we really "know" on some level, but don't recognize that we know these things. Maybe it just feels easier and safer to accept the truths we receive from these outside sources. But every now and then someone comes along and tries to shake some sense into us... "He also said to the multitudes, 'When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky; but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? And why do you not decide for yourselves what is right?'"  (Luke 12:14, 54)