Unique Spirituality, Unity Consciousness, Independent Practice and Interconnected
by
Rev. Tim Miner OUnI
What is the foundation of all inclusive practices and theologies and spiritualties? On August 23, 2013, I created a meme for the "Spiritual But Not Religious" that actually was the foundation for the creation of the Order of Universal Interfaith back in 2008.
With the recent proclamation by the board of the Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States (www.cic-usa.org) and the Order of Universal Interfaith (www.ouni.org) that the movement we are part of comes from multiple teachings and teachers, we explored the essence of what being SBNR means. We used the writings of many spiritual authors. The results are pretty simple.
All individuals are "Unique in their spirituality."
All individuals should have a sense of a "Unity Consciousness" that unites them with all people and forms of spirituality in the world.
All individuals are "Independent in their spiritual practices" with the freedom to choose from all the practices of the world's religions as their heart and head allows.
All individuals are "Interconnected with all other living beings" in the world.
These four simple statements lay the groundwork for every individual to explore and grow as they see fit and yet remain part of the entire spectrum of human spirituality and to remain connected and dependent on others and other life and the planet that sustains them.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
STATEMENT ON THE UNIVERSAL ACCEPTANCE OF ALL CLERGY IN THE INTERFAITH-INTERSPIRITUAL-INTEGRAL MOVEMENT
by
Rev. Tim Miner OUnI
As the interfaith-interspiritual-integral movements continue to grow, it is critical that all clergy, regardless of the source of their ordination, be recognized as equal partners in the greater "family of human spirituality" which is the scope and domain of the movement.... On 10 July 2013, the Board of Directors of the Order of Universal Interfaith (OUnI) followed the lead of the board of directors of the Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States (CIC-USA) in ratifying the following statement of universal acceptance of clergy stature.
by
Rev. Tim Miner OUnI
As the interfaith-interspiritual-integral movements continue to grow, it is critical that all clergy, regardless of the source of their ordination, be recognized as equal partners in the greater "family of human spirituality" which is the scope and domain of the movement.... On 10 July 2013, the Board of Directors of the Order of Universal Interfaith (OUnI) followed the lead of the board of directors of the Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States (CIC-USA) in ratifying the following statement of universal acceptance of clergy stature.
TITLE: A Policy of Universal Recognition for all CIC-USA associated Ordained Interfaith-Interspiritual-Integral Ministers
Whereas, the interfaith-interspiritual-Integral movement is now made up of multiple organizations and multiple congregations that include a majority of lay leaders and lay members that far outnumber the clergy ordained as “Interfaith Ministers” from all the seminaries of the world.
Whereas, the Interfaith-Interspiritual-Integral movement seeks to recognize a universal access to the many forms of human spirituality around the world, it is incumbent upon the movement to “walk its own talk” of inclusive organization.
Therefore, the umbrella organizations of the movement seek to insure that all spiritual leaders are recognized and welcomed and recognize that all ordained clergy within the CIC-USA communities are of equal legal stature by the movement. Consistent with United States law and CIC-USA policy, every legally constituted congregation has the right to select its own leadership and have that congregational leader be accepted into the greater movement. Some congregations may ordain. Others may use the model of the Quaker and Baha’I spiritual paths with no clergy but only community leadership.
While individual seminary programs, for spiritual leaders who have come through that path, have their own personalities and curriculum, it is important that all ordained clergy within the movement be considered part of a greater movement that extends beyond their own seminary community. Again, this is consistent with the interfaith community’s belief that all clergy of the world’s religions are, in fact, equal partners in the greater universal family of human spirituality which is the scope and domain of all Interfaith-Interspiritual-Integral Ministers.
Consistent with these statements, the board of directors of the participating organizations to this motion encourage all seminary graduates and OUnI direct-equivalent clergy to partake of the post-graduation education from all CIC interfaith seminaries. It is in the best interest of the movement that every ordained minister and community leader be exposed to the teachings of multiple seminaries. No clergy or congregational leader should be denied education and training based on the original source of ordination.
Consistent with its treatment of the world’s religions and forms of spirituality, it is in the best interest of the movement that all organizations recognize that the movement is best served by multiple teachers, multiple teachings, multiple curriculums, multiple books of wisdom, and multiple communities working together as a single spiritual home.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Co-Ordination: Yes, The Pun Was Intended!
“Co-Ordination”—An Increasingly Popular Outgrowth of the Interfaith/Interspiritual Movement
This article is a re-post of the new (and now second) article on OUnI in the newly revised 300-page ezine, "The Coming Interspiritual Age," published by Namaste Publishing on page 171 at: http://tinyurl.com/brg5amk
By
Rev. Tim Miner OUnI and Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson CMH
As the Interfaith and Interspiritual movements have grown worldwide, the idea of clergy becoming ordained in more than one tradition and/or also being ordained with the additional “tag” of Interfaith or Interspiritual Minister has become more and more popular. What has resulted is an interwoven tapestry of clergy whose ministries reflect the increasingly fewer and fewer boundaries among and across traditional religious denominations. Further, co-ordination has allowed anyone who may have run into difficulty with purely denominational ministry, especially because of their own interfaith or interspiritual activities, to find a new community if unfortunately they have been forced to leave the community of their original roots.
One path of co-ordination has grown from the work of the Order of Universal Interfaith (OUnI) (www.ouni.org) which is organized as a religious order in the District of Columbia and has a charter for such ordinations. It formed a partnership with the interspiritual constituency of Brother Wayne Teasdale (www.isdna.org) early in 2010 and the idea of co-ordination has grown ever since. On a cold January evening in 2010, over 50 clergy from a wide variety of faith traditions descended upon Washington, D.C., USA, to take part in the first co-ordination ceremony of OUnI that would provide a dual stature to serve all people of all faiths through the interfaith and interspiritual ecclesiastic religious society of OUnI. After almost 40 months and a dozen ceremonies all over the world, OUnI co-ordained clergy are actively meeting the spiritual needs of the world in many different ways and venues. Seven different subcommunities allow for a variety of expressions of the inclusive theology, spirituality and consciousness that defines the movement. They have created a theology conference to serve as the apologetic and publish on the movement. This event is the “Big I” (Interfaith, Interspiritual, Integral) conference, to date hosted by OUnI at the Scarritt-Bennett Conference Center on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (www.bigiconference.org) and in 2014 in Arizona. These conferences have further breathed a synergy into the entire interfaith, interspiritual and integral enterprises.
The association of multifaith clergy facilitated by OUnI, now on five continents and in twenty countries, has become a living embodiment of the vision that all forms of human spirituality are diverse expressions of the same spiritual goal—which is to be connected with higher callings and community beyond one’s own self or one’s conventional ethnic, national or religious identities. The idea of a universal order was envisioned in the creation of the Universal Third Order in the 1980’s (and now part of OUnI) and throughout the seminal interspiritual writings of Brother Wayne Teasdale. How that process is beginning to play out through the diverse constituencies now emerging across the interfaith, interspiritual and integral landscapes is an interesting phenomenon to watch.
OUnI has also provided recognition to “clergy level” leadership across traditions that are outside the conventional western boundaries of ministry. Through OUnI’s “Wisdom Keeper” status, the Order has been able to give recognition to the leaders of a myriad forms of human spirituality, many having no other legal recognition. This recognition is important for community and ministry building. Further, it has developed ordination specifically tailored for the diverse need of hospice and chaplaincy ministry. Further, OUnI has provided clerical status for community building, especially for community action-related programs, to communities who desire to use the terms “Brother” or “Sister” in their ministries.
At a September 2010 co-ordination in Sedona, Arizona, OUnI gave a seminal recognition to “integral ministry” with an ordination of integral teachers supported by philosopher Ken Wilber, author of another important book for our time-- Integral Spirituality. Ken Wilber is one of nine “Sages” recognized by OUnI, all of whose works have helped define the emerging universal spiritual path. We understand now that communities within the wider international integral community are also looking to co-ordination as a way to create and expand viable integral communities. OUnI has continued to offer its resources in those directions, realizing that its own seminal actions across the co-ordination phenomenon may lead many constituencies across the interfaith, interspiritual and integral landscape to now further think through what educations programs, and ordination, may mean for their uniquely emerging communities. As Brother Teasdale himself said “there are many paths to the tree-top but the ultimate view is the same”.
We have written this short article in response to many inquiries and responses that we have had speaking to how popular the vision of “co-ordination” has become. Anyone further interested in co-ordination as envisioned by The Order of Universal Interfaith is welcome to write to Rev. Miner at thminer@ouni.org.
This article is a re-post of the new (and now second) article on OUnI in the newly revised 300-page ezine, "The Coming Interspiritual Age," published by Namaste Publishing on page 171 at: http://tinyurl.com/brg5amk
By
Rev. Tim Miner OUnI and Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson CMH
As the Interfaith and Interspiritual movements have grown worldwide, the idea of clergy becoming ordained in more than one tradition and/or also being ordained with the additional “tag” of Interfaith or Interspiritual Minister has become more and more popular. What has resulted is an interwoven tapestry of clergy whose ministries reflect the increasingly fewer and fewer boundaries among and across traditional religious denominations. Further, co-ordination has allowed anyone who may have run into difficulty with purely denominational ministry, especially because of their own interfaith or interspiritual activities, to find a new community if unfortunately they have been forced to leave the community of their original roots.
One path of co-ordination has grown from the work of the Order of Universal Interfaith (OUnI) (www.ouni.org) which is organized as a religious order in the District of Columbia and has a charter for such ordinations. It formed a partnership with the interspiritual constituency of Brother Wayne Teasdale (www.isdna.org) early in 2010 and the idea of co-ordination has grown ever since. On a cold January evening in 2010, over 50 clergy from a wide variety of faith traditions descended upon Washington, D.C., USA, to take part in the first co-ordination ceremony of OUnI that would provide a dual stature to serve all people of all faiths through the interfaith and interspiritual ecclesiastic religious society of OUnI. After almost 40 months and a dozen ceremonies all over the world, OUnI co-ordained clergy are actively meeting the spiritual needs of the world in many different ways and venues. Seven different subcommunities allow for a variety of expressions of the inclusive theology, spirituality and consciousness that defines the movement. They have created a theology conference to serve as the apologetic and publish on the movement. This event is the “Big I” (Interfaith, Interspiritual, Integral) conference, to date hosted by OUnI at the Scarritt-Bennett Conference Center on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (www.bigiconference.org) and in 2014 in Arizona. These conferences have further breathed a synergy into the entire interfaith, interspiritual and integral enterprises.
The association of multifaith clergy facilitated by OUnI, now on five continents and in twenty countries, has become a living embodiment of the vision that all forms of human spirituality are diverse expressions of the same spiritual goal—which is to be connected with higher callings and community beyond one’s own self or one’s conventional ethnic, national or religious identities. The idea of a universal order was envisioned in the creation of the Universal Third Order in the 1980’s (and now part of OUnI) and throughout the seminal interspiritual writings of Brother Wayne Teasdale. How that process is beginning to play out through the diverse constituencies now emerging across the interfaith, interspiritual and integral landscapes is an interesting phenomenon to watch.
OUnI has also provided recognition to “clergy level” leadership across traditions that are outside the conventional western boundaries of ministry. Through OUnI’s “Wisdom Keeper” status, the Order has been able to give recognition to the leaders of a myriad forms of human spirituality, many having no other legal recognition. This recognition is important for community and ministry building. Further, it has developed ordination specifically tailored for the diverse need of hospice and chaplaincy ministry. Further, OUnI has provided clerical status for community building, especially for community action-related programs, to communities who desire to use the terms “Brother” or “Sister” in their ministries.
At a September 2010 co-ordination in Sedona, Arizona, OUnI gave a seminal recognition to “integral ministry” with an ordination of integral teachers supported by philosopher Ken Wilber, author of another important book for our time-- Integral Spirituality. Ken Wilber is one of nine “Sages” recognized by OUnI, all of whose works have helped define the emerging universal spiritual path. We understand now that communities within the wider international integral community are also looking to co-ordination as a way to create and expand viable integral communities. OUnI has continued to offer its resources in those directions, realizing that its own seminal actions across the co-ordination phenomenon may lead many constituencies across the interfaith, interspiritual and integral landscape to now further think through what educations programs, and ordination, may mean for their uniquely emerging communities. As Brother Teasdale himself said “there are many paths to the tree-top but the ultimate view is the same”.
We have written this short article in response to many inquiries and responses that we have had speaking to how popular the vision of “co-ordination” has become. Anyone further interested in co-ordination as envisioned by The Order of Universal Interfaith is welcome to write to Rev. Miner at thminer@ouni.org.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Re-post from "State of Formation" on Nones and SBNR
This post appeared for 24 hours from March 3-4, 2013, on the State of Formation blogs....
http://www.stateofformation.org/2013/03/the-nones-the-unaffiliated-the-sbnr-and-those-who-serve-them/
The Nones, the Unaffiliated, the SBNR and Those Who Serve Them
By
Reverend Tim Miner OUnI
Okay, it is now time to stop referring to the collective numbers that Pew Research is so famous for when we talk about the “nones.” Yes, on January 9th, the USAToday did run a graphic on the front page that showed that the “religiously unaffiliated” were now the third largest spiritual group in the world at 16 percent. So the unaffiliated, as a group, now surpass the Hindus and Buddhists and Jews and every other spiritual community except for Christians and Muslims. Yes, that is a significant number, but what does the number mean? Like every other spiritual community identified by the Pew numbers, there is such a wide variety of spiritual practices and expressions within the cohort that it is time to look at the individuals that make up that group, and then, as clergy (or aspiring clergy), find ways to support their individual needs.
For over a year now, I’ve been the principal content provider for the SBNR.org virtual community. “SBNR” stands for the ‘spiritual-but-not-religious.” We’ve used Facebook as the medium to connect to these widely scattered and varied individual souls. They come from over 20 countries around the world and they self-identify on all continents. I’ve had the privilege to get to know many of these participants on an individual level. It is now time to tell their story—one at a time.
Meeting One SBNR Couple
Let me introduce to you one SBNR couple today. That couple is Ezekiel and Vanessa and they allowed me to talk about them. They live near Charlottesville, Virginia and met while in college at the University of Virginia. I met them during a Yoga retreat along the shores of the James River at an ashram called “Yogaville.” He is 28 years old and has a Master’s degree in chemical engineering. She is 32 years old. Both are currently teachers, and they rent a large plot of land where they raise a few farm animals. They have just made a down payment on a farm of their own near the rural area on the Virginia and Tennessee boarder. While they will keep their hands in teaching part-time, they plan to be farmers. Before I met them, they never heard of the terms of “SBNR,” or “Nones” or any other label we have been using. They are just being true to themselves.
Unlike most of the participants on the SBNR virtual community, neither come from a “religious background.” He grew up in the rural Virginia area they are moving back to which is steeped in Protestant Christianity. His family did not own a farm. They did allow him to be a spiritual seeker from his youth and to explore his own calling without pressure to conform to one faith or another. He uses the term “seeker” to describe his path. Her family, more urban than his, never talked about religion at all that she can remember. They were at the ashram together for a yoga retreat. It was obvious during the sessions that they have done yoga for a number of years together. They chose to meditate with the rest of the ashram’s visitors and staff in the Temple during formal meditations. Their postures were flawless and if you looked at them during meditation you could see the quiet devotion in their spirituality. During the meals I had time to ask them about their backgrounds and their spiritual path. He knew little about Hinduism and never read any of the classic writings associated with that path. He knew more about Buddhism than any other religion, except for some background in Christianity from his youth. They were content on their path of quiet spiritual reflections together, and being tied to the animals they nurtured and to the land they were called to work.
What most caught my attention about this couple, and why they are important for you to meet, is that Vanessa is now pregnant with their first child. At the time of the retreat, she had just finished her first rough trimester of pregnancy. During the yoga classes her poses were appropriate for a mother-to-be. As I explored their spirituality during our mealtime conversations, I couldn’t help but ask them how they planned to teach spirituality to their child. At that point, they hadn’t even considered the question yet. They didn’t know if they could look for a local “spiritual community” that would support them and their child with traditional teachings. They didn’t know if they were going to just let the child become a seeker if the calling was there. This question, of how to raise the next generation, puts Ezekiel and Vanessa at an important place for all of us who are interested in the future of human spirituality. They will let me share with you their entire journey together over the next year. They, and all their fellow seekers, have a decision to make that could potentially shape the future of human spirituality.
Those Who Serve the SBNR and Seeking
It is significant that I met this couple at Yogaville—a place that honors all the world’s religions. The ashram was the product of the late Swami Satchidananda in the 1970’s. He was the guru at the Woodstock Music Festival in the 1960’s and he attracted a wide following of music stars that provided the material resources to allow his teachings to flourish. His most important teaching was simply that “Truth is One, Paths are Many.” Ezekiel and Vanessa meditated in the LOTUS which is a giant lotus-shaped temple that has alters dedicated to all the world’s religions including those that “haven’t been revealed yet.” Swami Satchidananda also helped Rabbi Joseph Gelberman create the first interfaith seminary, The New Seminary, in New York City in the early 1980’s. From that seminary and all the ones that have been created from its graduates, over 4500 “interfaith ministers” have emerged to support seekers and the SBNR community.
Interfaith Ministers represent a commitment from an evolving clergy that it is possible to spiritually serve all people of all faiths, and those with no faith path at all. We have reached a point in the United States where over one-third of all weddings are performed for people of different faith paths. The ceremonies can be a synthesis of different rituals or something unique depending on the desires of the couple. This is a clergy that believes that interfaith is no longer just a dialogue between the religions, but also an actual attempt to meet the needs of every unique spiritual being that walks the planet. The goal is to be a living example of “walking the talk of interfaith.”
This is not a new religion. However, there is a single religious order that can hold everyone and every practice, called the Order of Universal Interfaith (www.ouni.org). Besides Interfaith Ministers, the order accepts former clergy who have felt restricted by the scope of spiritual service that traditional paths allow. There is an annual conference of the best practices and examples of interfaith which serves as an apologetic for the movement. The conference is called the “BIG I Conference for Inclusive Theology, Spirituality and Consciousness” (www.bigiconference.org). This is only a movement since there is nothing “new” created by any of this. It is a worldview that accepts diversity in spirituality as a given for all of humanity.
Many of those who have come together have started to name this mystic place between the formal religions as “interspirituality” which is a term coined by the late Brother Dr. Wayne Teasdale. Right now, one of the top 10 books on Amazon.com is “The Coming Interspiritual Age” which was co-authored by Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson and David Ord. The book is a broad historic overview of the evolution of humans and their spirituality, which leads the reader to look at interspirituality as the next step.
Ezekiel, Vanessa and all Interfaith Ministers represent a growing body of spiritual people that casts aside labels and seeks to see the wide variety of spiritual paths and practices as part of a continuum of human spirituality. Their story continues to evolve and unfold before our eyes.
http://www.stateofformation.org/2013/03/the-nones-the-unaffiliated-the-sbnr-and-those-who-serve-them/
The Nones, the Unaffiliated, the SBNR and Those Who Serve Them
By
Reverend Tim Miner OUnI
Okay, it is now time to stop referring to the collective numbers that Pew Research is so famous for when we talk about the “nones.” Yes, on January 9th, the USAToday did run a graphic on the front page that showed that the “religiously unaffiliated” were now the third largest spiritual group in the world at 16 percent. So the unaffiliated, as a group, now surpass the Hindus and Buddhists and Jews and every other spiritual community except for Christians and Muslims. Yes, that is a significant number, but what does the number mean? Like every other spiritual community identified by the Pew numbers, there is such a wide variety of spiritual practices and expressions within the cohort that it is time to look at the individuals that make up that group, and then, as clergy (or aspiring clergy), find ways to support their individual needs.
For over a year now, I’ve been the principal content provider for the SBNR.org virtual community. “SBNR” stands for the ‘spiritual-but-not-religious.” We’ve used Facebook as the medium to connect to these widely scattered and varied individual souls. They come from over 20 countries around the world and they self-identify on all continents. I’ve had the privilege to get to know many of these participants on an individual level. It is now time to tell their story—one at a time.
Meeting One SBNR Couple
Let me introduce to you one SBNR couple today. That couple is Ezekiel and Vanessa and they allowed me to talk about them. They live near Charlottesville, Virginia and met while in college at the University of Virginia. I met them during a Yoga retreat along the shores of the James River at an ashram called “Yogaville.” He is 28 years old and has a Master’s degree in chemical engineering. She is 32 years old. Both are currently teachers, and they rent a large plot of land where they raise a few farm animals. They have just made a down payment on a farm of their own near the rural area on the Virginia and Tennessee boarder. While they will keep their hands in teaching part-time, they plan to be farmers. Before I met them, they never heard of the terms of “SBNR,” or “Nones” or any other label we have been using. They are just being true to themselves.
Unlike most of the participants on the SBNR virtual community, neither come from a “religious background.” He grew up in the rural Virginia area they are moving back to which is steeped in Protestant Christianity. His family did not own a farm. They did allow him to be a spiritual seeker from his youth and to explore his own calling without pressure to conform to one faith or another. He uses the term “seeker” to describe his path. Her family, more urban than his, never talked about religion at all that she can remember. They were at the ashram together for a yoga retreat. It was obvious during the sessions that they have done yoga for a number of years together. They chose to meditate with the rest of the ashram’s visitors and staff in the Temple during formal meditations. Their postures were flawless and if you looked at them during meditation you could see the quiet devotion in their spirituality. During the meals I had time to ask them about their backgrounds and their spiritual path. He knew little about Hinduism and never read any of the classic writings associated with that path. He knew more about Buddhism than any other religion, except for some background in Christianity from his youth. They were content on their path of quiet spiritual reflections together, and being tied to the animals they nurtured and to the land they were called to work.
What most caught my attention about this couple, and why they are important for you to meet, is that Vanessa is now pregnant with their first child. At the time of the retreat, she had just finished her first rough trimester of pregnancy. During the yoga classes her poses were appropriate for a mother-to-be. As I explored their spirituality during our mealtime conversations, I couldn’t help but ask them how they planned to teach spirituality to their child. At that point, they hadn’t even considered the question yet. They didn’t know if they could look for a local “spiritual community” that would support them and their child with traditional teachings. They didn’t know if they were going to just let the child become a seeker if the calling was there. This question, of how to raise the next generation, puts Ezekiel and Vanessa at an important place for all of us who are interested in the future of human spirituality. They will let me share with you their entire journey together over the next year. They, and all their fellow seekers, have a decision to make that could potentially shape the future of human spirituality.
Those Who Serve the SBNR and Seeking
It is significant that I met this couple at Yogaville—a place that honors all the world’s religions. The ashram was the product of the late Swami Satchidananda in the 1970’s. He was the guru at the Woodstock Music Festival in the 1960’s and he attracted a wide following of music stars that provided the material resources to allow his teachings to flourish. His most important teaching was simply that “Truth is One, Paths are Many.” Ezekiel and Vanessa meditated in the LOTUS which is a giant lotus-shaped temple that has alters dedicated to all the world’s religions including those that “haven’t been revealed yet.” Swami Satchidananda also helped Rabbi Joseph Gelberman create the first interfaith seminary, The New Seminary, in New York City in the early 1980’s. From that seminary and all the ones that have been created from its graduates, over 4500 “interfaith ministers” have emerged to support seekers and the SBNR community.
Interfaith Ministers represent a commitment from an evolving clergy that it is possible to spiritually serve all people of all faiths, and those with no faith path at all. We have reached a point in the United States where over one-third of all weddings are performed for people of different faith paths. The ceremonies can be a synthesis of different rituals or something unique depending on the desires of the couple. This is a clergy that believes that interfaith is no longer just a dialogue between the religions, but also an actual attempt to meet the needs of every unique spiritual being that walks the planet. The goal is to be a living example of “walking the talk of interfaith.”
This is not a new religion. However, there is a single religious order that can hold everyone and every practice, called the Order of Universal Interfaith (www.ouni.org). Besides Interfaith Ministers, the order accepts former clergy who have felt restricted by the scope of spiritual service that traditional paths allow. There is an annual conference of the best practices and examples of interfaith which serves as an apologetic for the movement. The conference is called the “BIG I Conference for Inclusive Theology, Spirituality and Consciousness” (www.bigiconference.org). This is only a movement since there is nothing “new” created by any of this. It is a worldview that accepts diversity in spirituality as a given for all of humanity.
Many of those who have come together have started to name this mystic place between the formal religions as “interspirituality” which is a term coined by the late Brother Dr. Wayne Teasdale. Right now, one of the top 10 books on Amazon.com is “The Coming Interspiritual Age” which was co-authored by Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson and David Ord. The book is a broad historic overview of the evolution of humans and their spirituality, which leads the reader to look at interspirituality as the next step.
Ezekiel, Vanessa and all Interfaith Ministers represent a growing body of spiritual people that casts aside labels and seeks to see the wide variety of spiritual paths and practices as part of a continuum of human spirituality. Their story continues to evolve and unfold before our eyes.
Monday, February 18, 2013
The 2nd Annual BIG I Conference
The second annual BIG I Conference on Inclusive Theology, Spirituality and Consciousness is now over and we are already looking forward to the next event. However, before there is too much planning, a recap of the second conference is in order.
More structured with fewer speakers than the first event in February 2012, and offering formal question and answer time after each presentation, the second annual event was considered a better program that really created what Rabbi Rami Shapiro and I hoped this event could become--a place for the thinkers and vision-givers for the "interfaith, interspiritual and integral movement" to meet with clergy and lay-members of the communities to provide a chance to share and interact over the "best ideas" and the "visions for the way-ahead."
Here was the final program:
Friday, February 1, 2013
The BIG Picture
Rev. JoAnn Barrett MSC CASAC, Chair, Council of Interfaith Communities of the USA
“Building Interfaith Communities”
Huston Smith Interfaith Educator of the Year Presentation
Rev. Diane Berke Ph.D. L.M.H.C., Director, OneSpirit Interfaith Seminary
“The View from 25 Years: Looking Back, Looking Forward”
Rev. Paul Chaffee, Founder and editor, The Interfaith Observer
“The Interfaith Movement – the First 120 Years”
Sacred Art: Movement
Rev. Kathy S. Gracenin OUnI cmh MFA, Director, Chalice of the Heart
“Body of Prayer...a moving experience”
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Ideas in Interfaith
Rev. Dr. Andrea Mathews, LPC, DD, Director of Academics at the American Institute of Holistic Theology
” Creating an Interfaith Theology”
Paul McKenna, Interfaith Programs, Scarboro Missions, Ontario, Canada
“How the Golden Rule, the Golden Rule Poster and the Golden Rule educational resources produced by Scarboro Missions can be used to promote interfaith dialogue”
Rev. Karen Baldwin, Author and American Ambassador to the Rural Women's Movement of South Africa
“When Cultures Clash: Doing Interfaith Work in South Africa”
Rabbi Rami Shapiro OUnI Ph.D., Middle Tennessee State University and author
“Five Questions: Deepening Interfaith Conversation”
Ideas in Interspirituality
Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson CMH, Administrator of Community of The Mystic Heart and author
“The Coming Interspiritual Age”
Rev. T.S. Pennington OUnI, Board, Order of Universal Interfaith
“Interspirituality and the Five Spheres of Interconnectedness”
Adam Bucko, Activist, Spiritual Director to many NYC homeless youth
“The New Monasticism”
Ideas in Integral and Integral Spirituality
Rev. Tom Thresher ISN, UCC Minister and author
“Building Integral Community and Resistance to Change”
Cindy Wigglesworth, Author and Founder of Deep Change
“Spiritual Intelligence”
7:00-8:00 pm Sacred Art: Interspiritual Education In Film
Adam Bucko, Activist, Spiritual Director to many NYC homeless youth
Sunday, February 3, 2013
New Ideas and Programs for the Future
The New Chaplaincy: Energy and Chaplaincy
Dr. Sonya Jones (Sw. Shraddhananda), University of Kentucky
“Sacred Energies”
Rev. Frances Bagdasarian OUnI M.Div., M.P.S., R.N., Chaplaincy Institute of Maine
“Energy Healing and the New Chaplaincy”
Eco-Ministry
…. With a panel of clergy who are scientists as well (Rev. Tim Miner OUnI and Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson, CMH)
Throughout the conference there were placed three calls to interfaith leaders from around the world lead by Rev. Tom Lynch OUnI, Director, International Academy for Interfaith Studies, Texas and Mexico. The countries are: India, Uganda, and Australia/New Zealand.
The event was designed and co-hosted by Reverend Tim Miner OUnI and Rabbi Dr. Rami Shapiro OUnI. The conference is already discussed by the leading interfaith newsletter in North America: http://theinterfaithobserver.org/journal-articles/2013/2/15/interfaith-interspiritual-integral-the-big-i-reconvenes.html
BIOGRAPHIES:
Rev. JoAnn Barrett MSC CASAC is the Senior Minister of the Gathering of Light Multifaith Spiritual Fellowship on Long Island, New York. She is a founding board member of the Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States. In 2012 she assumed the chair position of the Board of Directors for CIC-USA.
Rev. Diane Berke Ph.D. L.M.H.C. is the Spiritual Director and a Founder of OneSpirit Interfaith Seminary and the OneSpirit Learning Alliance. Since its beginning in 2002 over 750 students have graduated to ordination in Interfaith ministry. Between 1988 and 2002, she was on the faculty of The New Seminary where she served as its Director between 1998 and 2002. Much of the curriculum she developed during this time is still used in several Interfaith seminaries around the world. She is a founding board member of CIC-USA and is on the Leadership Circle of the Community of The Mystic Heart. She is a core member of the faculty for the Institute for Sacred Activism. She has an active psychotherapy and spiritual counseling practice in New York City.
Rev. Paul Chaffee is a United Church of Christ clergyman and was the founding executive director of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio, serving for 17 years. A trustee on United Religions Initiative’s original board for six years and the North American Interfaith Network board for ten, he led the planning teams for the initial URI-North America summit in 2001 and NAIN’s 20th anniversary conference in 2008. Paul founded The Interfaith Observer (TIO), which he edits, in 2011.
Rev. Kathy S. Gracenin OUnI cmh MFA is OUnI’s artist-in-residence. She has produced art displays of her interfaith-interspiritual photography and poetry gathered around the world for hospitals, chapels, airports and next-month in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. She has taught “sacred dance and movement” in the National Cathedral. She is a board member of OUnI and in 2012 founded the Chalice of the Heart ministry for interfaith-interspiritual art.
Rev. Dr. Andrea Mathews, LPC, DD the Director of Academics at the American Institute of Holistic Theology, is the author of two books, Restoring My Soul: A Workbook for Finding and Living the Authentic Self (2007), The Law of Attraction: The Soul’s Answer To Why It Isn’t Working And How It Can (2011, John Hunt Publishing, O Books). A third book, entitled Inhabiting Heaven NOW, The Answer to Every Moral Dilemma Ever Posed is set for publication in the spring of 2013, also by John Hunt Publishing. A published poet, with several magazine articles also published, Mathews has also served as the Editor of two small literary presses and won several literary awards. She is a psychotherapist with a thriving private practice where she uses both Cognitive and Transpersonal therapy to assist a diverse population with many different issues. And she offers Corporate Training, Motivational and Inspirational presentations to corporations, groups and the public. Mathews hosts the highly successful radio show, Authentic Living on VoiceAmerica.com, the 7th Wave Network, on which she has interviewed some of the world’s most profound and prolific bestselling authors in order to assist listeners in finding and living the authentic Self. You can learn more about Andrea’s books, articles, practice and more at www.andreamathewslpc.com. and more about her trainings and speaking at www.InnerWings.com.
Paul McKenna teaches, writes and consults in the field of interfaith dialogue. Over his 35-year interfaith career, he has received a number of awards and honors for his interreligious work. Paul collaborated with a number of individuals in creating the Golden Rule multifaith poster which has achieved international renown as an educational and interfaith resource. To accompany the poster, he has produced educational resources for youth and adults. Currently Paul functions as the Director of the Scarboro Missions Interfaith Dept. in Toronto, Canada.
Rev. Karen Baldwin is the American Ambassador to the Rural Women's Movement of South Africa, Interfaith Minister, Inspirational Speaker and author of "Ruby’s World," a memoir of her experience as the first white teacher in a rural Zulu school. There she had first-hand encounters with the AIDS crisis, strong Zulu traditions of infant scarification and female genital mutilation, witch doctor supremacy, and the Zulus’ desire for westernization. Karen is a graduate of the Chaplaincy Institute for Arts and Interfaith Ministry and holds a certificate in Spiritual Psychology from the West Coast Kabbalah School.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro OUnI Ph.D. is an award winning poet and essayist, whose liturgical writings are used in prayer services throughout North America. He has written over a dozen works of translation, biblical commentary, and nonfiction. Rabbi Rami is a graduate of the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and hold a doctoral degree in Judaic studies from Union Graduate School. A congregational rabbi for 20 years, Rami is currently Adjunt Professor of Religious Studies at Middle Tennessee State University, and directs One River (www.one-river.org), a not-for-profit educational foundation devoted to building community through contemplative conversation. His most recent books are The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness, The Divine Feminine, and Ethics of the Sages. He is a board member of OUnI.
Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson CMH has worked in science and spirituality for over 40 years. In spirituality Kurt is co-author of the recently published book THE COMING INTERSPIRITUAL AGE with David Robert Ord. As a New Release the book has been in Amazon's Top Ten in Spirituality. In science Kurt is the co-author of the best-selling NABOKOV's BLUES, with Steve Coates of The New York Times, which was a Top Ten Book in science in 2000. Kurt founded, with Br. Wayne Teasdale and others, the InterSpiritual Dialogue (www.isdna.org) association for discussion of contemplative experience across traditions. Ordained in three spiritual traditions, he works also with The Contemplative Alliance (www.gpiw.org) and the Community of The Mystic Heart. In science Kurt's PhD is in evolution, ecology, systematics and comparative biology. Associated with the American Museum of Natural History (30 yrs.) he published 200+ articles on evolution and ecology. He is a board member of OUnI.
Rev. Thomas “TS” Pennington OUnI is an Interfaith-Interspiritual Minister in North Carolina. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in interspirituality from Wisdom University. TS is a board member of OUnI and on the Leadership Circle of the Community of The Mystic Heart. He is a graduate of the OneSpirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City.
Adam Bucko is an Activist and the Spiritual Guide for homeless youth in New York City. He is an advocate for a contemplative approach to social change. He grew up in Poland behind the Iron Curtain and spent his early years exploring the anarchist youth movement as a force for social and political change. At the age of 17, Adam immigrated to America where his desire to find his path towards a meaningful life led him to monasteries in the US and India. His life-defining experience took place in India, where on his way to a Himalayan hermitage he met a homeless child who lived on the streets of Delhi. This brief encounter led him to the “Ashram of the Poor” where he began his work with homeless youth. After returning to the US, he worked on the streets of various American cities with young people struggling against homelessness and prostitution. In 2004, Adam co-founded (with Taz Tagore) the Reciprocity Foundation, an award winning nonprofit that empowers homeless and at-risk youth to break the cycle of poverty. The Foundation offers programs that combine contemplative, therapeutic, and creative tools for personal transformation with business skills.
Rev. Tom Thresher ISN Ph.D. is currently the pastor of a nascent Integral Church (UCC) in western Washington. Long a student of consciousness and spirituality, Tom’s exploration was inspired by eight years of intensive transformational work in a small group setting nearly 40 years ago. Ironically, that experience led him into economics. After completing a Masters in Economics and a Doctorate in Education at Stanford University, Tom taught economics for a decade. He is now an ordained minister and spiritual teacher in the emerging field of Evolutionary Christianity. He has studied and taught Integral Theory for over 15 years. In addition to pastoring, Tom teaches Leadership and Personal Development at Bainbridge Graduate Institute, an MBA program in sustainable business. For the past seven years Tom has led groups exploring the interface of religion, spirituality, and science. He continues to develop and lead workshops in Transformational Inquiry and Integral philosophy. He is the author of “Reverent Irreverence: Integral Church for the 21st Century.” He does his best not to take any of this seriously.
Cindy Wigglesworth has 20 years of experience in human resources management with ExxonMobil. She founded her business, now called Deep Change, in 2000. Cindy is certified in Emotional Intelligence and has created, validated and researched the first skills-based Spiritual Intelligence Assessment instrument for business and personal use. This instrument is both faith-neutral and faith-friendly. It allows business people to talk about Spiritual Intelligence skills and how to develop them without using the language of religion – while still making the connection to beliefs and practices that are of deep personal importance for each person. She is a gifted speaker and well known author.
Dr. Sonya L. Jones (Swami Shraddhananda) earned a doctorate in interdisciplinary studies from Emory University. She rose through the ranks to senior professor of English and interdisciplinary studies at Allegheny College from which she took early retirement in the year 2000 to return to her native Kentucky. She currently teaches in the Honors Program at the University of Kentucky and serves as Trustee and Distinguished Alumni Scholar at Union College. Dr. Jones also serves as Retreat Master at Slate Branch Retreat Ashram, home of Adishraddha or Sacred Feet Yoga.
Rev. Frances Bagdasarian OUnI, M.Div., M.P.S., R.N. is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies, Bangor Theological Seminary, Loyola University of New Orleans and the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine. She is the chair of the OUnI Energy Healing Committee. She is a board member and Treasurer of A World Alliance of Interfaith Clergy, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Chaplaincy Institutue of Maine, a member of the American Association of Holistic Nursing. She is a Reki Healing Master and holds a current RN license in the state of Maine. She has developed a private spiritual care practice that supports holistic health. Her ministry includes interreligious and interspritual consultation/education and dialog, as well as, community organizing in areas of awareness, meditation, energy healing, personal empowerment, emotional intelligence, women's health.
Rev. Timothy Miner OUnI cmh M.Div. M.A. CBC is a co-creater of the conference and its co-host for the first two years. He is a chaplain for federal and local law-enforcement in Virginia and a former chaplain for hospice care. He is the co-founder of the Order of Universal Interfaith (OUnI) and the founding Executive Director of the Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States. With an extensive background in meteorology and weather/physical geography studies, he is active in the American Meteorological Society's Aviation, Range and Aerospace Committee.
More structured with fewer speakers than the first event in February 2012, and offering formal question and answer time after each presentation, the second annual event was considered a better program that really created what Rabbi Rami Shapiro and I hoped this event could become--a place for the thinkers and vision-givers for the "interfaith, interspiritual and integral movement" to meet with clergy and lay-members of the communities to provide a chance to share and interact over the "best ideas" and the "visions for the way-ahead."
Here was the final program:
Friday, February 1, 2013
The BIG Picture
Rev. JoAnn Barrett MSC CASAC, Chair, Council of Interfaith Communities of the USA
“Building Interfaith Communities”
Huston Smith Interfaith Educator of the Year Presentation
Rev. Diane Berke Ph.D. L.M.H.C., Director, OneSpirit Interfaith Seminary
“The View from 25 Years: Looking Back, Looking Forward”
Rev. Paul Chaffee, Founder and editor, The Interfaith Observer
“The Interfaith Movement – the First 120 Years”
Sacred Art: Movement
Rev. Kathy S. Gracenin OUnI cmh MFA, Director, Chalice of the Heart
“Body of Prayer...a moving experience”
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Ideas in Interfaith
Rev. Dr. Andrea Mathews, LPC, DD, Director of Academics at the American Institute of Holistic Theology
” Creating an Interfaith Theology”
Paul McKenna, Interfaith Programs, Scarboro Missions, Ontario, Canada
“How the Golden Rule, the Golden Rule Poster and the Golden Rule educational resources produced by Scarboro Missions can be used to promote interfaith dialogue”
Rev. Karen Baldwin, Author and American Ambassador to the Rural Women's Movement of South Africa
“When Cultures Clash: Doing Interfaith Work in South Africa”
Rabbi Rami Shapiro OUnI Ph.D., Middle Tennessee State University and author
“Five Questions: Deepening Interfaith Conversation”
Ideas in Interspirituality
Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson CMH, Administrator of Community of The Mystic Heart and author
“The Coming Interspiritual Age”
Rev. T.S. Pennington OUnI, Board, Order of Universal Interfaith
“Interspirituality and the Five Spheres of Interconnectedness”
Adam Bucko, Activist, Spiritual Director to many NYC homeless youth
“The New Monasticism”
Ideas in Integral and Integral Spirituality
Rev. Tom Thresher ISN, UCC Minister and author
“Building Integral Community and Resistance to Change”
Cindy Wigglesworth, Author and Founder of Deep Change
“Spiritual Intelligence”
7:00-8:00 pm Sacred Art: Interspiritual Education In Film
Adam Bucko, Activist, Spiritual Director to many NYC homeless youth
Sunday, February 3, 2013
New Ideas and Programs for the Future
The New Chaplaincy: Energy and Chaplaincy
Dr. Sonya Jones (Sw. Shraddhananda), University of Kentucky
“Sacred Energies”
Rev. Frances Bagdasarian OUnI M.Div., M.P.S., R.N., Chaplaincy Institute of Maine
“Energy Healing and the New Chaplaincy”
Eco-Ministry
…. With a panel of clergy who are scientists as well (Rev. Tim Miner OUnI and Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson, CMH)
Throughout the conference there were placed three calls to interfaith leaders from around the world lead by Rev. Tom Lynch OUnI, Director, International Academy for Interfaith Studies, Texas and Mexico. The countries are: India, Uganda, and Australia/New Zealand.
The event was designed and co-hosted by Reverend Tim Miner OUnI and Rabbi Dr. Rami Shapiro OUnI. The conference is already discussed by the leading interfaith newsletter in North America: http://theinterfaithobserver.org/journal-articles/2013/2/15/interfaith-interspiritual-integral-the-big-i-reconvenes.html
BIOGRAPHIES:
Rev. JoAnn Barrett MSC CASAC is the Senior Minister of the Gathering of Light Multifaith Spiritual Fellowship on Long Island, New York. She is a founding board member of the Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States. In 2012 she assumed the chair position of the Board of Directors for CIC-USA.
Rev. Diane Berke Ph.D. L.M.H.C. is the Spiritual Director and a Founder of OneSpirit Interfaith Seminary and the OneSpirit Learning Alliance. Since its beginning in 2002 over 750 students have graduated to ordination in Interfaith ministry. Between 1988 and 2002, she was on the faculty of The New Seminary where she served as its Director between 1998 and 2002. Much of the curriculum she developed during this time is still used in several Interfaith seminaries around the world. She is a founding board member of CIC-USA and is on the Leadership Circle of the Community of The Mystic Heart. She is a core member of the faculty for the Institute for Sacred Activism. She has an active psychotherapy and spiritual counseling practice in New York City.
Rev. Paul Chaffee is a United Church of Christ clergyman and was the founding executive director of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio, serving for 17 years. A trustee on United Religions Initiative’s original board for six years and the North American Interfaith Network board for ten, he led the planning teams for the initial URI-North America summit in 2001 and NAIN’s 20th anniversary conference in 2008. Paul founded The Interfaith Observer (TIO), which he edits, in 2011.
Rev. Kathy S. Gracenin OUnI cmh MFA is OUnI’s artist-in-residence. She has produced art displays of her interfaith-interspiritual photography and poetry gathered around the world for hospitals, chapels, airports and next-month in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. She has taught “sacred dance and movement” in the National Cathedral. She is a board member of OUnI and in 2012 founded the Chalice of the Heart ministry for interfaith-interspiritual art.
Rev. Dr. Andrea Mathews, LPC, DD the Director of Academics at the American Institute of Holistic Theology, is the author of two books, Restoring My Soul: A Workbook for Finding and Living the Authentic Self (2007), The Law of Attraction: The Soul’s Answer To Why It Isn’t Working And How It Can (2011, John Hunt Publishing, O Books). A third book, entitled Inhabiting Heaven NOW, The Answer to Every Moral Dilemma Ever Posed is set for publication in the spring of 2013, also by John Hunt Publishing. A published poet, with several magazine articles also published, Mathews has also served as the Editor of two small literary presses and won several literary awards. She is a psychotherapist with a thriving private practice where she uses both Cognitive and Transpersonal therapy to assist a diverse population with many different issues. And she offers Corporate Training, Motivational and Inspirational presentations to corporations, groups and the public. Mathews hosts the highly successful radio show, Authentic Living on VoiceAmerica.com, the 7th Wave Network, on which she has interviewed some of the world’s most profound and prolific bestselling authors in order to assist listeners in finding and living the authentic Self. You can learn more about Andrea’s books, articles, practice and more at www.andreamathewslpc.com. and more about her trainings and speaking at www.InnerWings.com.
Paul McKenna teaches, writes and consults in the field of interfaith dialogue. Over his 35-year interfaith career, he has received a number of awards and honors for his interreligious work. Paul collaborated with a number of individuals in creating the Golden Rule multifaith poster which has achieved international renown as an educational and interfaith resource. To accompany the poster, he has produced educational resources for youth and adults. Currently Paul functions as the Director of the Scarboro Missions Interfaith Dept. in Toronto, Canada.
Rev. Karen Baldwin is the American Ambassador to the Rural Women's Movement of South Africa, Interfaith Minister, Inspirational Speaker and author of "Ruby’s World," a memoir of her experience as the first white teacher in a rural Zulu school. There she had first-hand encounters with the AIDS crisis, strong Zulu traditions of infant scarification and female genital mutilation, witch doctor supremacy, and the Zulus’ desire for westernization. Karen is a graduate of the Chaplaincy Institute for Arts and Interfaith Ministry and holds a certificate in Spiritual Psychology from the West Coast Kabbalah School.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro OUnI Ph.D. is an award winning poet and essayist, whose liturgical writings are used in prayer services throughout North America. He has written over a dozen works of translation, biblical commentary, and nonfiction. Rabbi Rami is a graduate of the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and hold a doctoral degree in Judaic studies from Union Graduate School. A congregational rabbi for 20 years, Rami is currently Adjunt Professor of Religious Studies at Middle Tennessee State University, and directs One River (www.one-river.org), a not-for-profit educational foundation devoted to building community through contemplative conversation. His most recent books are The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness, The Divine Feminine, and Ethics of the Sages. He is a board member of OUnI.
Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson CMH has worked in science and spirituality for over 40 years. In spirituality Kurt is co-author of the recently published book THE COMING INTERSPIRITUAL AGE with David Robert Ord. As a New Release the book has been in Amazon's Top Ten in Spirituality. In science Kurt is the co-author of the best-selling NABOKOV's BLUES, with Steve Coates of The New York Times, which was a Top Ten Book in science in 2000. Kurt founded, with Br. Wayne Teasdale and others, the InterSpiritual Dialogue (www.isdna.org) association for discussion of contemplative experience across traditions. Ordained in three spiritual traditions, he works also with The Contemplative Alliance (www.gpiw.org) and the Community of The Mystic Heart. In science Kurt's PhD is in evolution, ecology, systematics and comparative biology. Associated with the American Museum of Natural History (30 yrs.) he published 200+ articles on evolution and ecology. He is a board member of OUnI.
Rev. Thomas “TS” Pennington OUnI is an Interfaith-Interspiritual Minister in North Carolina. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in interspirituality from Wisdom University. TS is a board member of OUnI and on the Leadership Circle of the Community of The Mystic Heart. He is a graduate of the OneSpirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City.
Adam Bucko is an Activist and the Spiritual Guide for homeless youth in New York City. He is an advocate for a contemplative approach to social change. He grew up in Poland behind the Iron Curtain and spent his early years exploring the anarchist youth movement as a force for social and political change. At the age of 17, Adam immigrated to America where his desire to find his path towards a meaningful life led him to monasteries in the US and India. His life-defining experience took place in India, where on his way to a Himalayan hermitage he met a homeless child who lived on the streets of Delhi. This brief encounter led him to the “Ashram of the Poor” where he began his work with homeless youth. After returning to the US, he worked on the streets of various American cities with young people struggling against homelessness and prostitution. In 2004, Adam co-founded (with Taz Tagore) the Reciprocity Foundation, an award winning nonprofit that empowers homeless and at-risk youth to break the cycle of poverty. The Foundation offers programs that combine contemplative, therapeutic, and creative tools for personal transformation with business skills.
Rev. Tom Thresher ISN Ph.D. is currently the pastor of a nascent Integral Church (UCC) in western Washington. Long a student of consciousness and spirituality, Tom’s exploration was inspired by eight years of intensive transformational work in a small group setting nearly 40 years ago. Ironically, that experience led him into economics. After completing a Masters in Economics and a Doctorate in Education at Stanford University, Tom taught economics for a decade. He is now an ordained minister and spiritual teacher in the emerging field of Evolutionary Christianity. He has studied and taught Integral Theory for over 15 years. In addition to pastoring, Tom teaches Leadership and Personal Development at Bainbridge Graduate Institute, an MBA program in sustainable business. For the past seven years Tom has led groups exploring the interface of religion, spirituality, and science. He continues to develop and lead workshops in Transformational Inquiry and Integral philosophy. He is the author of “Reverent Irreverence: Integral Church for the 21st Century.” He does his best not to take any of this seriously.
Cindy Wigglesworth has 20 years of experience in human resources management with ExxonMobil. She founded her business, now called Deep Change, in 2000. Cindy is certified in Emotional Intelligence and has created, validated and researched the first skills-based Spiritual Intelligence Assessment instrument for business and personal use. This instrument is both faith-neutral and faith-friendly. It allows business people to talk about Spiritual Intelligence skills and how to develop them without using the language of religion – while still making the connection to beliefs and practices that are of deep personal importance for each person. She is a gifted speaker and well known author.
Dr. Sonya L. Jones (Swami Shraddhananda) earned a doctorate in interdisciplinary studies from Emory University. She rose through the ranks to senior professor of English and interdisciplinary studies at Allegheny College from which she took early retirement in the year 2000 to return to her native Kentucky. She currently teaches in the Honors Program at the University of Kentucky and serves as Trustee and Distinguished Alumni Scholar at Union College. Dr. Jones also serves as Retreat Master at Slate Branch Retreat Ashram, home of Adishraddha or Sacred Feet Yoga.
Rev. Frances Bagdasarian OUnI, M.Div., M.P.S., R.N. is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies, Bangor Theological Seminary, Loyola University of New Orleans and the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine. She is the chair of the OUnI Energy Healing Committee. She is a board member and Treasurer of A World Alliance of Interfaith Clergy, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Chaplaincy Institutue of Maine, a member of the American Association of Holistic Nursing. She is a Reki Healing Master and holds a current RN license in the state of Maine. She has developed a private spiritual care practice that supports holistic health. Her ministry includes interreligious and interspritual consultation/education and dialog, as well as, community organizing in areas of awareness, meditation, energy healing, personal empowerment, emotional intelligence, women's health.
Rev. Timothy Miner OUnI cmh M.Div. M.A. CBC is a co-creater of the conference and its co-host for the first two years. He is a chaplain for federal and local law-enforcement in Virginia and a former chaplain for hospice care. He is the co-founder of the Order of Universal Interfaith (OUnI) and the founding Executive Director of the Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States. With an extensive background in meteorology and weather/physical geography studies, he is active in the American Meteorological Society's Aviation, Range and Aerospace Committee.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The 2nd Annual BIG I Conference on Inclusive Theology, Spirituality and Consciousness
by Rev. Tim Miner OUnI
The second annual BIG I Conference for Inclusive Theology, Spirituality and Consciousness takes place in February 1-3, 2013 back at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville. It is designed to be a TED-style format to highlight ”the best” in interfaith, interspirituality and integral spirituality ideas and vision. Dialogue with clergy and lay members of interfaith organizations and communities in a collaborative environment for visioning the future of human spirituality. Speakers list for the BIG I Conference 2013 …
THEME: “Building Community with Spiritual Vision”
Co-hosts: Rabbi Dr. Rami Shapiro OUnI and Rev. Tim Miner OUnI M.Div
Speakers:
-
Rabbi Dr. Rami Shapiro OUnI
Author and Professor of World Religions, Middle Tennessee State University
“Five Questions: Deepening Interfaith Conversation”
-
Adam Bucko
Interspiritual Activist and Spiritual Director for NYC Homeless Youth
“The New Monasticism”
-
Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson CMH
Author of “The Coming Interspiritual Age”
“The Coming Interspiritual Age”
-
Rev. Paul Chaffee
UCC Clergy and founder and editor of “The Interfaith Observer”
“The First 120 Years of Interfaith”
-
Rev. Dr. Tom Thresher ISN
UCC Minister and Author of “Reverent Irreverence: Integral Church for the 21st Century”
“Building Integral Community”
-
Cindy Wigglesworth
Integral speaker and coach
“Spiritual Intelligence”
-
Paul McKenna
Interfaith Outreach, Scarboro Missions, Toronto Canada
“The Golden Rule and Interfaith Dialogue”
-
Rev JoAnn Barrett
Chair, Board of Directors, Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States
“Building Interfaith Communities”
-
Rev. Dr. Andrea Matthews
American Institute of Holistic Theology
“Creating an Interfaith Theology”
-
Dr. Sonya L. Jones
Professor of World Religions, U of Kentucky
“Interfaith Perspective of Divine Energy”
-
Rev. Frances Bagdasarian OUnI M.Div. MPS RN
Chair, OUnI Energy Chaplaincy Committee
“Energy Work and the New Chaplaincy”
-
Rev. Kathy S. Gracenin OUnI MFA
Director, Chalice of the Heart
“Bodies in Motion: Sacred Dance”
-
Rev. Jay Speights OUnI
Director, The New Seminary
“Interfaith Worship”
-
Rev. Diane Berke
Director, One Spirit Interfaith Seminary
"Interfaith: 25 Years of Perspective"
-
Rev. Karen Baldwin
American Ambassador to the Rural Women’s Movement of South Africa
“A Jouney with the Zulu”
-
Rev. T.S. Pennington OUnI cmh
Community of The Mystic Heart
“Interspirituality and the Five Spheres of Interconnectedness”
The venue is the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee USA. Official events begin at 3 pm on Friday with the last session ending at noon on Sunday. Details and the history of this conference are on the website at: www.bigiconference.org.
The second annual BIG I Conference for Inclusive Theology, Spirituality and Consciousness takes place in February 1-3, 2013 back at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville. It is designed to be a TED-style format to highlight ”the best” in interfaith, interspirituality and integral spirituality ideas and vision. Dialogue with clergy and lay members of interfaith organizations and communities in a collaborative environment for visioning the future of human spirituality. Speakers list for the BIG I Conference 2013 …
THEME: “Building Community with Spiritual Vision”
Co-hosts: Rabbi Dr. Rami Shapiro OUnI and Rev. Tim Miner OUnI M.Div
Speakers:
-
Rabbi Dr. Rami Shapiro OUnI
Author and Professor of World Religions, Middle Tennessee State University
“Five Questions: Deepening Interfaith Conversation”
-
Adam Bucko
Interspiritual Activist and Spiritual Director for NYC Homeless Youth
“The New Monasticism”
-
Rev. Dr. Kurt Johnson CMH
Author of “The Coming Interspiritual Age”
“The Coming Interspiritual Age”
-
Rev. Paul Chaffee
UCC Clergy and founder and editor of “The Interfaith Observer”
“The First 120 Years of Interfaith”
-
Rev. Dr. Tom Thresher ISN
UCC Minister and Author of “Reverent Irreverence: Integral Church for the 21st Century”
“Building Integral Community”
-
Cindy Wigglesworth
Integral speaker and coach
“Spiritual Intelligence”
-
Paul McKenna
Interfaith Outreach, Scarboro Missions, Toronto Canada
“The Golden Rule and Interfaith Dialogue”
-
Rev JoAnn Barrett
Chair, Board of Directors, Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States
“Building Interfaith Communities”
-
Rev. Dr. Andrea Matthews
American Institute of Holistic Theology
“Creating an Interfaith Theology”
-
Dr. Sonya L. Jones
Professor of World Religions, U of Kentucky
“Interfaith Perspective of Divine Energy”
-
Rev. Frances Bagdasarian OUnI M.Div. MPS RN
Chair, OUnI Energy Chaplaincy Committee
“Energy Work and the New Chaplaincy”
-
Rev. Kathy S. Gracenin OUnI MFA
Director, Chalice of the Heart
“Bodies in Motion: Sacred Dance”
-
Rev. Jay Speights OUnI
Director, The New Seminary
“Interfaith Worship”
-
Rev. Diane Berke
Director, One Spirit Interfaith Seminary
"Interfaith: 25 Years of Perspective"
-
Rev. Karen Baldwin
American Ambassador to the Rural Women’s Movement of South Africa
“A Jouney with the Zulu”
-
Rev. T.S. Pennington OUnI cmh
Community of The Mystic Heart
“Interspirituality and the Five Spheres of Interconnectedness”
The venue is the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee USA. Official events begin at 3 pm on Friday with the last session ending at noon on Sunday. Details and the history of this conference are on the website at: www.bigiconference.org.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
UBUNTU: The Philosophy for the Future
By Rev. Tim Miner OUnI
The word is “Ubuntu” and it is from the Bhantu language group of southern Africa. It is an important word and one that now literally “means the world to me” for it embodies in three syllables my personal worldview, my passion for organizing the Big I movement of interfaith-interspirituality-integral spirituality as a living demonstration of inclusivity, and the word becomes the elevator speech for economic changes that are embodied by the Occupy movement that I support.
"Ubuntu" talks about how life is lived "connected." Desmond Tutu explained Ubuntu in 2008 when he said: "One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu –the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity." In Ubuntu, the “individualism” of Western thought is diminished for it is subordinated to the needs of the greater human community. In the words of integral thinking, Ubuntu is the essence of the whole Lower Left quadrant of the Four Quadrant Model. It is that place that defines the part of ourselves that is known as “WE.” Ubuntu is living the life a personal sacrifice that was my reason for being a military officer. Ubuntu moves me to donate a greater-than-average share of my resources to causes that improve the world than most others. Ubuntu makes my life worth living.
I believe that the spiritual community of the Big I (Interfaith-Interspirituality-Integral Spirituality) needs to pay attention and learn from the philosophy of Ubuntu. The goals of the movement are to serve people of all faiths as bridge builders, facilitators and spiritual guides. If ever there was a population that could live the philosophy of connectedness, of Ubuntu, it should be the ordained interfaith and interspiritual ministers. But will they demonstrate this? The Individualism of Western thought is rampant here in this population, too. The future will hold the key.
Ubuntu is the single word, I believe, that defines the economic goals of the Occupy Movement around the world. It is the opposite of Social Darwinism. To live life connected is to share resources for everyone’s benefit. I was surprised to find that a U.S. Republican President best described the need for an Ubuntu philosophy when it comes to the economic and political principles that best serve the country. In a speech in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt said, “It is all-essential to the continuance of our healthy national life that we should recognize this community of interest among our people. The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us, and therefore in public life that man is the best representative of each of us who seeks to do good to each by doing good to all; in other words, whose endeavor it is not to represent any special class and promote merely that class's selfish interests, but to represent all true and honest men of all sections and all classes and to work for their interests by working for our common country.” With Ubuntu there is no class warfare. With Ubuntu there is no poverty that isn’t dealt with by the whole community at large. Ubuntu would seek to erase the disparity in third-world countries for it extends beyond the borders of political entities to include all of humanity. Ubuntu could be a key to a sustained peace in the world.
Ubuntu is an African philosophy with global implications. It ties each of us to the common good for all others in the world. We are connected and must make decisions that impact us all. With its potential for a lasting and just peace in the world it is a philosophy we cannot ignore. The Big I of inclusive theology, spirituality and consciousness should teach this philosophy as part of its mission to build a better future for us all.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Spirituality: It's All About the Balance
By Rev. Tim Miner OUnI
For the last 18 months I’ve had the chance to learn about “integral spirituality” from the evolving program at an interfaith seminary in NYC. During that time I’ve had to learn about Integral Spirituality from the start.
Many have questioned just how “spiritual” integral spirituality really is. Some have said it was too “heady” to really be accepted by those who look to the heart for the source of their spirituality. As I’ve read the material I would have to say that there is so much psychology that the spirit is downed out sometimes.
But there is one thing that does inspire me and that is that the AQAL model has taught me to live a “balanced” life. The four quadrants of the I, the We, the It and the Its are all the same size and same shape. It is equally important to living the “integral life.” That means that integral spirituality is not just about my soul, my psychology, and my spirituality. It is also about the physical body that houses me. It is about the community that nurtures me. It is also about the worldly environment that sustains me. I have to give each the attention and focus that they desire to live the complete life.
I wonder what you think?
Friday, March 2, 2012
KEEPING AN EYE ON THE “BIG I CONFERENCE”
By
Rev. Tim Miner OUnI and Rabbi Dr. Rami Shapiro (OUnI)
Rev. Tim Miner OUnI and Rabbi Dr. Rami Shapiro (OUnI)
During the first weekend of February, as part of World Interfaith Harmony Week 2012, speakers from four countries gathered in Nashville, Tennessee, to share their ideas, practices, and visions for the future of human spirituality at the first annual “Big I Conference.” Named for the spiritual movements of Interfaith, Interspirituality and Integral spirituality—all the Inclusive theologies and spirituality, the conference’s speakers shared their work and ideas with an audience of clergy, spiritual leaders and curious laity. The event was hosted and sponsored by the Order of Universal Interfaith (OUnI) and Wisdom House at the Scarritt Bennett Center of Nashville.
The hosts created the Big I Conference to meet an unfulfilled need for all interfaith ministers. As interfaith spirituality seeks its place at the table and works to evolve human consciousness, it needs to gather together its visions, best practices and scholarly studies so that they are presented to the world for discussion, publication and peer review. Organized like a mini-TED conference, each speaker had eighteen minutes to share their work. Three presentations came per session followed by a long period for individual questions and dialogue with the audience. Each presentation was videotaped for sharing on YouTube and through DVD, and each speaker will author a paper for publication in a new journal of the conference’s proceedings.
The conference began with sharing a practice. Ed Bastian Ph.D., president of the Spiritual Paths Institute of California, led the audience in a session of “interspiritual meditation.” Dr. Bastian authored the book “InterSpiritual Meditation: A Seven Step Process from the World’s Spiritual Traditions.” By focusing on the written words from different spiritual traditions, Dr. Bastian brought the audience together in the head and heart.
Camille Adams Helminsky, co-director and founder of the Threshold Society, the teaching organization of the Mevlevi order of Sufism then spoke on “Witnessing the Unity: Rumi’s Recognition of a Universal Spirituality” If hearts were opened by the meditation that came first, they were filled by Camille’s eloquent readings of Rumi’s call to love.
Brother Dyron Holmes O.P.M., founder of The Peoples Monastery in Brooklyn, New York City, shared a vision for the future. He spoke about his creation for a live-in monastery in New York City to teach interfaith values to artists through classes and an annual stage production. He also challenged the audience to reflect on how it could create a meaningful and deep “American Enlightenment Experience” for those who couldn’t travel overseas to places like India or Jerusalem.
The second session opened with a paper on the evolution of Interspirituality from Dr. Kurt Johnson CMH. Because of an illness, Dr. Johnson’s paper was presented by colleague, Rev. Thomas Pennington OUnI. Based on the work in his upcoming book from Namaste publishing, Dr. Johnson tied the evolution of interspirituality to globalization and the need for economic reforms called by the Occupy movements around the United States.
Rev. Dr. Dan Rosemergy, an Interfaith Alliance Board Member and pastor of Greater UU Nashville, then spoke on “Building Interfaith Communities: The Challenge and the Vision.” This presentation was followed by Rev. Lynne Feldman, founding director of the “integral Spirituality Nexus” and an integral educator, who shared how integral spirituality could be a framework for future evolution of human consciousness. She also shared how integral spirituality was a source of comfort during recent treatments for two kinds of cancer.
The third session of the day began with Steve Frazee, founder of SBNR.org. He spoke on the topic of “The Emerging World of SBNR (Spiritual But Not Religious) and its Impact on Religion and Spirituality.” He was followed by Rev. Dr. Gordon Peerman, a therapist, lecturer, and author of “Blessed Relief, What Christians Can Learn from Buddhists About Suffering;” who spoke on “My Life as Paradigm: Living and Learning from Christianity and Buddhism.” The session concluded with a best-practice presentation on the Doctorate of Ministry in Multi-faith Context at New York Theological Seminary by a recent graduate, Dr. Nurah-Rosalie Amat’ullah, Executive Director of the Muslim Women’s Institute for Research and Development. She added her call to the entire conference to make sure it does work for social justice as part of its mission.
The fourth session began with a vision by recent Vanderbilt graduate, Chance Dillion M.Div. who is the director of the Scriptural Reasoning Project. Chance spoke on “A New Paradigm for Interfaith Dialogue” which suggested a path for dialogue between interfaith and Christianity. From Christianity the conference turned to Hinduism with a presentation by Rev. Philip Goldberg who is the author of 19 books, most recently “American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation.” Rev. Goldberg spoke about “The Once and Future Religion: Hinduism and the Religious Future.” The session then returned to a discussion of Christianity with a paper by Rev. Dr. Joyce Liechenstein OUnI, Secretary General of the Order of Universal Interfaith, which showed why the Christian Bible called her to do interfaith work.
The fifth session of the day began with a talk by Professor M. Darrol Bryant Ph.D., professor emeritus of world religions at Rennison University College and the first recipient of the Huston Smith Award for Interfaith Education presented by the Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States. Dr. Bryant shared his forty years of interfaith work and education and his current project of escorting students from Canada on an extensive tour of the sacred sites of India. Huston Smith named Dr. Bryant his own heir-apparent for Dr. Bryant’s work.
Carol Mansour from Baha’i of Greater Nashville followed with an overview of the Baha’i religion and its importance to interfaith dialogue in the world. The final presentation of the afternoon was Michael Stillwater, film-maker and musical intuitive, who travelled from Switzerland to show a seventeen minute version of his movie, “The Great Song.” His topic was “Metaphorical theology: In Search of the Great Song, the common thread running through all humanity and transcending culture and religion.” He led the conference in chant as the movie soundtrack ended.
After dinner in a dining-hall that reminded everyone of Hogwart’s Great Hall—all that was missing was the floating candles—there was one more session to go. That final session of the day began with Rev. Dr. Theodore Richards; author, poet, philosopher, and interfaith educator; who spoke from his recent book about “Cosmosophia: Cosmology, Mysticism, and the Birth of a New Myth.” Rev. Dr. Thomas Lynch, OUnI, Executive Director of the International Academy of Interfaith Studies in Mexico, gave a scholarly presentation on “Spiritual Wisdom” and process theology. The final paper of the day was from Rev. Tim Miner OUnI, Executive Director of the Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States, who spoke about in importance of language in the interfaith message, the need to be clear on terminology, and how to add the word “interfaith” to other cultures of the world to produce global change.
The final event of the very long first day was the Nashville premiere of “Globalized Soul,” a documentary filmed in Australia, India, Israel, Morocco, Mexico, Turkey and the United States, exploring the oneness at the center of the colorful diversity of the world's religions. Made by Kell Kearns and Cynthia Lukas, the cornerstone of the film was its coverage of one of the largest interfaith gatherings in history: "The Parliament of the World's Religions" held in Melbourne, Australia in December, 2009.
Sunday morning brought the conference together again for one more session and a discussion about the future of spirituality. The session began with Rabbi Steve Booth-Nadav, director of Wisdom House Denver, who spoke about “Educating a Multifaith Community.” Rabbi Steve described his spiritual journey to an interfaith path thanks to an enlightened encounter with Native American spirituality. The conference then learned about another best practice with the work of Linda Ragsdale, author, illustrator, and the director of the Peace Dragon Project who spoke on “Beyond Dialogue: Building Interfaith Community Through Art.” She described surviving a terrorist attack in India and how it led to using the imagery of a dragon to promote peace to children of the world. Throughout the conference all the participants and audience walked around with a stained finger as everyone contributed to creating a peace dragon art piece together. The final presentation of the session came from William Keepin, Ph.D. who is the director of the Satyana Institute and an interspiritual retreat leader and author. His talk, “Toward an Interspiritual Theology of Divine Love,” showed the common elements of Hinduism and Christianity.
The final paper of the entire conference came from co-host Rabbi Rami Shapiro. In his “holy irreverent” style that kept everyone laughing, Rabbi Rami talked about his personal project to tell the stories of the “Holy Rascals” of the world’s religions—those who pushed buttons to evolve spirituality and get the world to think.
With presentations and dialogue done, the audience and presenters gave their feedback and ultimately called for the conference to continue annually to continue the work of sharing the best practices and newest ideas in interfaith, interspirituality and integral spirituality. The proceedings of the conference and the DVD of presentations will be released in the autumn of 2012. The Second Annual Big I Conference is already scheduled for Nashville on the first weekend of February 2013. Everyone is invited to attend and nominate speakers for presentations. Information will come through the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BigIConference and a new website is still under construction.
Rev. Tim Miner M.Div. OUnI and Rabbi Dr. Rami Shapiro are board members of OUnI, the umbrella organization that co-ordains and hosts member of 8 communities. Rev. Miner is a chaplain and Executive Director for the Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States. Rabbi Rami Shapiro is a popular author, professor of World Religions at Middle Tennessee State University, and the Director of Wisdom House in Nashville.
Monday, December 26, 2011
What are THE texts of the Inclusive Spirituality movement (the BIG I)?
As part of its mission to help indentify the "inclusive theology, spirituality and consciousness" of the emerging "Big I" (Interfaith-Interspiritual-Integral Spirituality) movement, the BIG I Conference (http://www.scarrittbennett.org/programs/wisdom.aspx#i) would like to sponsor a committee to look at and identify THE current and past texts that help us indentify what it means to be an "Interfaith Minister," "Integral Minister" or "Interspiritual Minister" in the world today. I would suggest that while the prelimary results will be presented this February at the BIG I Conference, this could be adopted as a standing committee of the CIC-USA or the World CIC programs for on-going development.
QUESTION BEFORE US IS: What are the texts that EVERY Interfaith-Interspiritual-Integral Minister should read as part of their professional understanding and their prophetic call to serve in this movement? (This is beyond the sacred texts identified with the specific wisdom traditions that are the core of our spiritual movement.) What are the gaps in our documentation that need to be filled (written about) that will move this sacred calling forward?
Brother Nomi Naeem OUnI has agreed to chair this prelimary committee. He is very well qualified for this work in light of his professional responsibilities at the Brooklyn Public Library. His email is integralfriends@yahoo.com.
As a starting place, let me suggest four or five texts that might need to be on the list:
1. The World's Religions (Dr. Huston Smith)
2. The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions (Br. Dr. Wayne Teasdale)
3. Integral Spirituality (Dr. Ken Wilber)
4. Seeking the Sacred (Rev. Dr. Stephanie Dowrick)
5. Cosmosophia (Rev. Dr. Theodore Richards)
WHAT DO YOU THINK? What should or shouldn't be included?
If you are interested or know of someone from your seminary or group or ministry that is willing to serve on this committe, please contact Brother Nomi for inclusion into this effort. The BIG I Conference is an incorporated ministry of the Council of Interfaith Communities of the USA (www.cic-usa.org). PLEASE share this call to participate with others from your community that you think have an interest in identifying these texts and having this list published.
Monday, November 21, 2011
What is an Abrahamic Minister?
Yesterday I was chatting with Rev. Jean Leone OUnI, Secretary General of the Order of Universal Interfaith which I claim as my ecclesiastic home. I suggested that it was, perhaps, time for OUnI to endorse and seek a school that would educate for ordination, a new kind of interfaith minister--not universal, and yet one more than just eccumenical--an "Abrahamic Minister" that would minister to communities from the three principal Western monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. I think it is a timely and needed step in bringing the faith paths into a greater discussion of their common theism through the common patriarch of Abraham.
Recently the Claremont School of Theology was touted by the national media as the first "interfaith seminary." While we all know that this is incorrect (it was The New Seminary in 1981), it is the first Department of Education accredited seminary to train three different faiths under one roof. But there are still walls between the members of each faith path and, therefore, there are walls between the clergy that are produced. What if someone was trained in all three paths to serve all three paths? THAT would be an "Abrahamic Minister."
It seems my humble county in Virginia needs an "Abrahamic Minister." I will be opening a fellowship for all three faiths descended from Abraham to come together in co-worship, service, education and community building. I am doing this because I've been asked by several families of mixed marriage from the three faiths to create an "inclusive space" for them to stay together and share their united path of spirituality. I will honor that calling. BUT, I am trained by the Christian faith and need to find education that moves beyond the original mandate as an interfaith minister. I need to become skilled in the Torah and the Qu'ran as much as I am the Bible. So where do I go?
Rabbi Rami Shapiro and I are already working on the first common "holiday" that will bring the three faiths together on at least one day every year. We are working to celebrate the first "Feast of Abraham" in 2012. The day will bring the faiths together to share a meal and discuss Abraham as a common thread to all three faith paths.
There is a market now open for any school that can help me meet the calling to become an "Abrahamic Minister." .... So what do you think?
Recently the Claremont School of Theology was touted by the national media as the first "interfaith seminary." While we all know that this is incorrect (it was The New Seminary in 1981), it is the first Department of Education accredited seminary to train three different faiths under one roof. But there are still walls between the members of each faith path and, therefore, there are walls between the clergy that are produced. What if someone was trained in all three paths to serve all three paths? THAT would be an "Abrahamic Minister."
It seems my humble county in Virginia needs an "Abrahamic Minister." I will be opening a fellowship for all three faiths descended from Abraham to come together in co-worship, service, education and community building. I am doing this because I've been asked by several families of mixed marriage from the three faiths to create an "inclusive space" for them to stay together and share their united path of spirituality. I will honor that calling. BUT, I am trained by the Christian faith and need to find education that moves beyond the original mandate as an interfaith minister. I need to become skilled in the Torah and the Qu'ran as much as I am the Bible. So where do I go?
Rabbi Rami Shapiro and I are already working on the first common "holiday" that will bring the three faiths together on at least one day every year. We are working to celebrate the first "Feast of Abraham" in 2012. The day will bring the faiths together to share a meal and discuss Abraham as a common thread to all three faith paths.
There is a market now open for any school that can help me meet the calling to become an "Abrahamic Minister." .... So what do you think?
Sunday, October 23, 2011
It is time to remember "Cincinnatus" as a role model of selfless service.
This is a history lesson that we need to remember now. At a time when we are looking for role models for service in spiritual ways and in the secular (including service in government), now is the time to remember Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. He was called to government service in Rome at a time of crisis--an enemy was knocking on the front gate. Appointed as a dictator, he did his job in 16 days "saving" his city and country, and then gave up his title and returned to his farm and the plow. That was "selfless service."
His example was evoked by General George Washington and all the officers of the Continental Army and their French allies. When they finished their work of "independence" they created the "Society of Cincinnatus" for fellowship and then returned to their own plows in the colonies. George Washington was offered the "kingship" of the new nation but turned it down.
In the United States, our congressional representatives received full pensions and benefits for life after one year in service. Many laws passed by congress excludes those who pass the law. This is not selfless service. This is not a very good role model.
Learn more about Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnatus
His example was evoked by General George Washington and all the officers of the Continental Army and their French allies. When they finished their work of "independence" they created the "Society of Cincinnatus" for fellowship and then returned to their own plows in the colonies. George Washington was offered the "kingship" of the new nation but turned it down.
In the United States, our congressional representatives received full pensions and benefits for life after one year in service. Many laws passed by congress excludes those who pass the law. This is not selfless service. This is not a very good role model.
Learn more about Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnatus
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The Second Axial Age: The Rise of the Co-templative
I believe that it is time for a second Axial Age to rise up on the Earth. German Philosopher Karl Jaspers first used the term, "Axial Age" or Achsenzeit (Axis Time), to describe the period between 800 and 200 B.C.E. when spontaneously, there was a new consciousness about humanity and its self awareness. Professor Mark W. Muesse described one of the conditions that led to this change as a rise of "individuality" all over the world. People saw themselves as "individuals" and started to ask questions like: Where did they go after death? Why were they alive? Who were they really? Individual religious patterns emerged all over the world to answer those questions. It was the rise of the "I."
I believe that the work and philosophy of Ayn Rand is about as far as we can go. Politically and economically, the "I" is a burden on most societies around the world.
It is time for a new thought paradigm. We have already seen calls for "unity consciousness" and "collective identity." The shift is already entering our vision range and something new has to happen. Perhaps the "Occupy Movement" all over the world is the time to make the change. It is time spiritually for the rise of the co-templative. Our personal spirituality is no longer just based on the "I" of individual "salvation" or "enlightenment" or "consciousness." Now is the time for spiritual people to see that their collective spirituality is also important to the health and sustainability of the world. Community is as important as individuality. This knows no artifical barriers like nationality or religious label. If this paradigm rises up, then we are truely entering the second Axial Age.
Are you a co-templative? Join me at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Community-of-Co-templatives/232780583445355#!/pages/Community-of-Co-templatives/232780583445355.
Rev. Tim Miner OUnI
.....and the response from Rabbi Rami Shapiro:
I believe that the work and philosophy of Ayn Rand is about as far as we can go. Politically and economically, the "I" is a burden on most societies around the world.
It is time for a new thought paradigm. We have already seen calls for "unity consciousness" and "collective identity." The shift is already entering our vision range and something new has to happen. Perhaps the "Occupy Movement" all over the world is the time to make the change. It is time spiritually for the rise of the co-templative. Our personal spirituality is no longer just based on the "I" of individual "salvation" or "enlightenment" or "consciousness." Now is the time for spiritual people to see that their collective spirituality is also important to the health and sustainability of the world. Community is as important as individuality. This knows no artifical barriers like nationality or religious label. If this paradigm rises up, then we are truely entering the second Axial Age.
Are you a co-templative? Join me at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Community-of-Co-templatives/232780583445355#!/pages/Community-of-Co-templatives/232780583445355.
Rev. Tim Miner OUnI
.....and the response from Rabbi Rami Shapiro:
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
We're NOT Inclusive Unless EVERYONE Is Included
By
Rev. Tim Miner M.Div. OUnI
Rev. Tim Miner M.Div. OUnI
Okay, let’s cut to the bottom line right away. We are NOT inclusive unless EVERYONE is included. Period. That means we have to include faith paths that we don’t agree with (practices) as well as paths we don’t believe (truth) into our scope of influence and to send invitations to them for our spiritual events. This includes religious fundamentals. There are several reasons why I think this is the only way.
The first is to provide logical consistency in our “theology.” In my beginning apologetics class in seminary we learned about the “self-defeating argument.” The fundamentalist’s argument against the inclusive theologies is that “your inclusivity doesn’t include me.” For example, in the book Integral Life Practice: A 21st Century Blueprint for Physical health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening the authors state that one could be “attuned to an Integral spirituality” so long as one believes that it will “subtract (and there is no way around this) ..the belief that one’s own path is the only true path to divinity” (199-200). Since there are fundamental paths that claim that they are “exclusive paths to a relationship to God” then their argument goes something like this. “If your path doesn’t include my path then you are not really inclusive and therefore you are an illogical contradiction—a self-defeating argument.” But what if we did accept the fundamentalist position as part of the included families of human spirituality? While they may not feel their position is welcome, we would welcome them and we would be the ones consistent in our theology. Author Samir Selmanovic, who wrote the book, It’s Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian,” told me that to keep the fundamentalists from being afraid of the inclusive movement, we will need to be ready to rebuild the mosque or church of a fundamentalist group when it is destroyed in the next disaster. I think he is quite right.
The second reason to include everyone is that practices and spirituality within the fundamentalists’ religions offers us some lessons worth learning. The “centering prayer” of the Christian faith and the Charity of the third pillar of Islam are only two of the ideas that I think we can all benefit from in our spiritual lives.
Third, and finally, fundamentalists are spiritual people that we are called to serve in our inclusive ways. As a chaplain I recently performed a Christian baptism at the request of the young parents. A woman was crying in the back of the ceremony. Later I talked to her in a private context and she had a story she needed to share with me. In a private place she confessed to me that she had been brought up in a strict Christian background. She was now living with a married man. It was obvious that she was feeling guilty about her situation. I asked her what she thought she should do and she said that she needed to get right with Jesus and God. The act of declaring one’s life for Jesus Christ and accepting the salvation that comes from that is as sacred as any event in fundamental Christianity. We were on our knees together and I led her through the text of the Christian Bible that would be her guide toward that event. We prayed together. Later that evening I called a local pastor of a Christian church to ask him to take this woman under his wing for the “discipleship” that she needed to return healed to her root tradition. Had she been a Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist, or any other path, I would have done what I could do to heal her according to HER traditional path. She hurt as a Christian and it took a Christian fundamentalist ceremony to heal her.
So we are not going to be inclusive unless everyone is included or at least invited to participate in our movement. If they make the decision to not join us then we aren't the ones being exclusive.
Peace and Shalom and Al-Salam and Namaste.
RESPONSE
by
Rabbi Dr. Rami Shapiro OUnI
by
Rabbi Dr. Rami Shapiro OUnI
Let me be very clear: 1) Tim is right; 2) I hate that Tim is right; 3) Tim is still right.
When I first read this I thought the solution was to burn down all the religious institutions I disagree with and then offer to help rebuild them again. Slowly. But that isn't what Tim meant at all. He meant we have to sit down and chat with people who think we are spawn of the devil. We have to make room for them in the Big I of Inclusivity and Interfaith.
Actually I like talking with fundamentalists. They are clear about what they believe and not hesitant to share their beliefs. So on the chatting level I have no problem. My problem (and that is all it is MY problem) is that sometimes when we welcome those who disagree with us we end up catering to them as well. This is especially true when liberal Jews seek to engage truly Orthodox Jews in joint events. Suddenly we, the liberals, have to live as Orthodox Jews so that we can enjoy the company of Orthodox Jews who have no appreciation or respect for our liberalism at all.
The challenge is to create a gathering where no one has to cater to anyone. Is this possible? I have yet to see it in the Jewish world. What would this look like? What could such a gathering accomplish? If there is a constituency that will not budge, will the rest simply surrender? That is what seems to be happening with the Democrats in Congress vis a vis the Tea Party folks. The two party system is dead; we are all Conservative Republicans now. Except for Bernie Sanders.
The point is not to support one side or another, but simply to note that the most intransigent seem to win. Will this happen to the Big I Tent as well? And if not, why not?
When I first read this I thought the solution was to burn down all the religious institutions I disagree with and then offer to help rebuild them again. Slowly. But that isn't what Tim meant at all. He meant we have to sit down and chat with people who think we are spawn of the devil. We have to make room for them in the Big I of Inclusivity and Interfaith.
Actually I like talking with fundamentalists. They are clear about what they believe and not hesitant to share their beliefs. So on the chatting level I have no problem. My problem (and that is all it is MY problem) is that sometimes when we welcome those who disagree with us we end up catering to them as well. This is especially true when liberal Jews seek to engage truly Orthodox Jews in joint events. Suddenly we, the liberals, have to live as Orthodox Jews so that we can enjoy the company of Orthodox Jews who have no appreciation or respect for our liberalism at all.
The challenge is to create a gathering where no one has to cater to anyone. Is this possible? I have yet to see it in the Jewish world. What would this look like? What could such a gathering accomplish? If there is a constituency that will not budge, will the rest simply surrender? That is what seems to be happening with the Democrats in Congress vis a vis the Tea Party folks. The two party system is dead; we are all Conservative Republicans now. Except for Bernie Sanders.
The point is not to support one side or another, but simply to note that the most intransigent seem to win. Will this happen to the Big I Tent as well? And if not, why not?
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