Volume 7: Issue 6
May/June 2003
God, Humans and Animals
Table Of Contents
Cover
Story: God, Humans and Animals:
 Every Creature is a Word of God
--By: Candace Chellew-Hodge
If we pay
close attention to the animals in our lives, we can hear God speaking
to us -- speaking words of love, charity, hope and grace.
Love, With No Questions Asked
--By: John H. Campbell
Just like pets who love us unconditionally and without judgment, I feel
that God's Love is exactly like that multiplied: God does not judge things
that are not hurtful of others. God does not judge me based on my sexuality
or sexual orientation, or the fact that I am bisexual with a female and
a male partner.
Ministers in Fur
--By: Darrell Grizzle
I believe
my healing has been greatly accelerated, though, through the prayers
of friends as well as by the ministrations of a Reiki healer and also
by my partner Michael (a massage therapist). One member of my holistic
healing team is a feline massage therapist who came into our household
a few months ago.
The Gift of Free Will
--By: Robin Herman
Our lives are
so busy, the TV is loud and we're expected at a friend's for dinner.
No time to worry about our free will. No time to listen to God's voice inside
our heart or to look for the face of God in the eyes of a puppy. No
time to be a shepherd over those wandering sheep.
God's Creatures, One and All
--By: Bg Click
When taking
a Christian Ethics class for my master's program, one of the subjects
we studied was the sanctity of life. If we say we believe that all life
is sacred do we believe that all life is sacred? Or do we have a level
at which we determine that a particular form of life is not sacred?
A Warm Place in the Sun
--By: Thom Britton
Dogs have that
ability to meet you where you are in life. They share your joy and happiness
as well as your pain and sadness.
Homospirituality
Nail Implies Hammer
--By: Ko Imani
Being LGBT
or queer is more than a matter of who you are physically and emotionally
attracted to, or whether you fit society's idea of your gender or not.
Being queer should ignite a fire to know Truth -- a sort of drive toward
intelligence that can only be satisfied when you can see the world from
different angles at once.
Remember Who You Are
--By: Tom Yeshua
We forget
who we are. We easily forget that we are royalty -- every one of us.
We are princesses and princes, children of the King, Lord of Heaven
and Earth!
Emmanuel
--By: Randy Johnson
We
are often told that God is with us, that we should not be fearful, but
secure in His love for us. Those are comforting words that we have heard
often, but when trouble strikes us they can seem no more than words.
Features:
Presbyterian pastor rebuked for performing
same-sex marriage
-- By: Laura Montgomery Rutt
Rev.
Stephen Van Kuiken, minister of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church (USA),
was found guilty April 21 of violating the PCUSA Constitution, which
requires ministers to discriminate against gays and lesbians in marriage.
He will be rebuked for his actions.
ELCA Council Forwards Progress Report
on Studies on Sexuality
-- By: ELCA News Service
At the direction
of the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the church is conducting a comprehensive
four-year study on homosexuality and a six-year study on human sexuality.
Current ELCA policy expects ministers to refrain from all sexual relations
outside of marriage.
Rescuing the Bible From
Fundamentalism
-- A Book Review By: Derek Miller
Since so many
people will inevitably misconstrue the title of this book as a hysterical
mantra against all things religious, I must stress that, contrary to
some reviewers' attacks, Spong is an honest theologian whose purpose
is to strengthen faith -- not destroy it completely.
Letters To The Editor
The War With Iraq:
Love
in a War Zone:
A Journey of Peace to Iraq
-- By: Kara Speltz
This
morning two of the Iraqi Peace Team who were in Baghdad, arrived around
5 a.m. after traveling all night. They tell us the road is still open,
and while there was a burned out bridge, a burned out bus and ambulance,
the journey was fairly safe. So we are in great hopes of leaving tomorrow,
probably around 2 a.m., if all goes well.
Beyond
this War, and the Next:
Waging Peace for the Long Haul
-- By: Bruce Hahne
I suggest
here five foundational needs for the U.S. peace movement - five objectives
which we must pursue as part of a multi-decade process to build a society
grounded in the equality of all human beings and a belief in the futility
of violence as a long-term means of conflict resolution.
Sorrows of war: What would Augustine
say?
-- By: The Christian Century Editors
Augustine
is widely known--and frequently reproached--for developing the concept
of a "just war," he believed war is essentially an occasion for remorse.
"The wise person will wage just wars," he wrote, but even the possibility
of war "should cause humans sorrow because humans are responsible for
it."
Ad asks president to repent of foreign, domestic policies
-- By: The United Methodist News Service
"It is our
judgment that some policies advanced by your administration give evidence
of the spiritual forces of wickedness that exist in our world today,"
the ad stated. It called the notion of "pre-emptive violence" incompatible
with Christ and his teaching.
From the Pulpit:
St. Francis Celebration of Animals
--By: Revd Sarah Park
St. Francis
of Assisi, whose imprint on our world we celebrate today, was a friend
of furry ones. Francis was a lover of life. He knew about God and animals.
He knew that God permeates all life. Francis saw God in children, poor
and rich, kings and serfs, birds and wolves.
Spiritual Magna Carta
--By: Gary Simpson
Gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgendered believers are discouraged from coming to
the Christ. Churches placed restrictions and demands on gay and bisexual
believers that they would not place on anybody else. Queer Christians
are sensitive to that, to receiving the right foot of fellowship for
wanting to see Jesus.
Ah! The Power of Prayer:
Part One -- "The Fish in the Water is Thirsty!?!"
--By: Rev. Brad Wishon
Why spend so
much time on a topic that most people think they understand? I believe
a true life of prayer, of meditation, of devotion, of open-ness is the
elemental basis for forward growth and positive change. It's what allows
us to embrace it. Only in connection with the source of "all-that-is,"
the cosmos, God, the "out there," can we grown beyond our present state.
Bible Study and Inspiration:
Peter and Cornelius at the MCC
--By: Steve Pearson
... we must,
with Peter, lay aside our churches' conceptions of morality and ethics
in order to accept God's call in our lives. We must be willing to do
even that which we think is unlawful, which for many of us means we
must stop trying to become something God has no intention of making
us: straight.
Cut to the Chase
--By: Stacy Reynolds
We all go
through trials and tribulations. We get our feelings hurt and we hold
grudges. We behave badly and we commit sins. I Corinthians 13 is one
of the most beautiful passages in the Bible because in its simplicity
it speaks of love and how basic and wonderful it is.
Holy Humor!
The Priest's Ass
Seeing Eye Chihuahua
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