by Rachel
This weekend I had the privilege of participating in Convergence, a conference sponsored by NW Emerging Women Leaders. It was held at McMenamin’s Edgefield in Troutdale, near Portland OR. This conference initially came to my attention because my best friend Karlene was one of the ministers organizing the event. Normally, I would prefer a root canal to attending a women’s conference, but Karlene assured me that this one would be different, so I decided to give it a try. It turned out to be a wonderful experience and I am very glad I attended.
The 65 conference attendees were a very diverse group — women of all different ages and life seasons, from young punk women with dreadlocks and tattoos to older conservatively dressed grandmas. And of course, a few grandmas with dyed hair and tattoos. :-) There was a wide range of religious backgrounds — Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Episcopal and many more. Some women were part of nondenominational churches, some house churches and others not in a faith community. There were married women, single women, widows, mothers (including one with a newborn baby) and one woman who was going to be getting married in the park a few hours after the conference was over! Some of the women were ordained ministers; others were lay leaders in their communities. There were women whose favorite color is clearly pink and others who obviously love black. Most were from the Northwest but a handful of women had flown in from other parts of the country. In the midst of all the diversity, there was one point of commonality: we are all followers of Jesus, whatever that looks like in our context. And that was enough to unite us. Read the rest of this news item »
Jason Clark and Paul Mayers kindly invited me to be a guest blogger on Jason’s blog today. Jason Clark. This is what I posted on there.
I value relationships, period. This is specifically about why I think Christians should value them
John Armstrong recently wrote about the value of relationship. In the entry before that he shares a choice which to me implicitly highlights the importance of relationship. He mentions taking time to write to one prisoner even though the question arose in his mind: “Why am I doing this when there are so many more important things to be done today that could reach hundreds more people?”
I think a follower of Jesus who chooses to spend time on/with one person is on safe ground because Jesus often did that, according to the gospels. I might be wrong but I think Jesus made that choice because when you do something one-on-one for/with a person you are entering into some sort of relationship with them. He evidently believed that adds value which can’t be added any other way.
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Karen started a very interesting discussion on the discussion board recently with the question
Karen wrote the following, picking up on a comment by Eliza:
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Everyone seems to like a good story. I certainly do — I learned to read early and have been an avid reader ever since.
I think one reason stories work so well is that they don’t demand that we understand them a particular way. They come alongside us, gently inviting us to find meaning in them and parallels with our own lives.
This leaves us wonderful room to find our own connections with the story. Since our brains love to find connections, we do and are often shocked at how powerfully a story touches us.
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Karen sent me this video – I thought it was pretty funny.
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I’d missed two class sessions (ended up having to work late), but made it to this session last week. Here are some thoughts:
1. Sorry, but these classes are getting boring
It’s clear that I am not the intended audience for this class; at this point, it’s directed toward church members and potential church members. It’s become pretty boring, since I don’t share belief in the foundation that’s been laid down. (But I took notes and wrote up my thoughts below anyway. For what it’s worth!)
I confess that I brought a book, The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, and read a chapter during class, while keeping half an ear on what the pastor was saying. (This is probably a sin.) It turns out, I found a parallel between the class topic and the book (see #8 below) – & it was only a little bit of a stretch!
2. A “first”! Read the rest of this news item »
I got to experience the disapproval of a church lady at the start of this class!! My first time ever!
Gregg Lamm recently e-mailed me this:
I’m wondering if a good discussion at CatE might be on how people have encountered the Bible in their lives … the good, the bad, and the ugly. Certainly the recent posts on the Native American experience with the Bible and how it was used “against them” shows a side of Christian evangelistic fervor (and a reading of and use of the Bible) that is so revolting I can hardly stomach it.
In what significant ways, good, bad or ugly, has encountering the Bible shaped your life?
These could be direct – from your own reading of it and application of it. Or indirect – how.other people highly influenced by the Bible have significantly affected, or do significantly affect, your life.
Posted in Comments from others | 28 Comments »As an avid reader, I was recently prompted by some comments on another blog to make a critical examination of my reading list. The bloggers in that particular discussion were sharing with one another their book recommendations and I noticed that every one of the authors mentioned were Western white males. Since it is a blog that appeals mainly to progressive types, I was surprised and I prepared to post my enlightening observation.
But then it occurred to me that I should probably inventory my own reading material first. So I got up and went around the house and collected the last 26 books I’d purchased and read. And 22 were written by Western white males. Three by women and one (ONE!) by a two/thirds world author. Yikes! Suddenly I didn’t feel so self-righteous.
It was a good wake-up call and I’ve set a goal for myself for 2007: I need to broaden my reading list. I need to hear more diverse voices, more people of color, more women and especially, more non Westerners.
* Can you recommend some books for me that represent more diverse voices and communities?
* What patterns do you notice in your own reading material? What factors determine your literary choices?
Posted in General Conversation | 19 Comments »I was listening to Living on Earth on Saturday. This caught my attention:
Scientists and evangelical Christians tend to have very different worldviews, but the urgent challenges posed by global warming now have some of the most eminent leaders in each camp talking and working together to save “creation’. This week they announced a coalition: a new effort to convince non-believing politicians and the public of the need to take immediate action on climate change.
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I want to pick up on a discussion that began in the Church Rater blog comments:
Rachel: Going to the mall often gives me a borderline panic attack. For one thing, I don’t particularly like shopping, especially for clothes. Also, there are too many stores and too many choices. There are so many people and they all seem to have a frenzied air. And since I have become more aware of extreme poverty issues, I tend to see all the people with all their shopping bags and want to freak out and yell, “People are starving, don’t you all care?” And then I feel bad for judging everybody and besides, I’m there too.
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