#interdenominational

[angelojohnlewis]

Spirituality and Social Justice Symposium

This Spirituality and Social Justice Symposium explores the intersection of spirituality and activism. Host Angelo John Lewis engages in a dynamic discussion with guests Shariff Abdullah, Lucas Johnson, and Cat Zavis about their experiences in social activism and successful projects.

The panelists highlighted the significance of inner work and personal transformation in effective activism. They emphasized the need for individuals to engage in self-reflection, challenging systems of oppression while practicing empathy and kindness. They agreed that the collective exploration of solutions and the cultivation of curiosity and dialogue are essential for creating meaningful change.

Further into the symposium, they delved into the concept of leadership and its role in social justice movements. They express the need for leaders to prioritize love, compassion, and the well-being of the community over power and financial gain.  While they acknowledge the complexity and nuance of leadership, they advocated for a shift in consciousness and a reimagining of leadership that fosters inclusivity, empathy, and care.

Johnson shared his involvement in representing nonviolent activists at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, while Rabbi Cat Zavis discussed her experience advocating for women prisoners in Alaska and improving their living conditions. Shariff Abdullah discussed his involvement in the Sarvodia Peace Action Plan in Sri Lanka, and emphasized the role of grassroots movements in promoting peace and unity.

Abdullah is the founder of Commonway.org, who in the early 1960s he helped found the Black People’s Unity Movement (BPUM), an organization dedicated to self-help and development in the inner city of Camden. Johnson is the Executive Vice President of the On Being project and a human rights advocate and public theologian with deep, global experience in conflict resolution and community organizing. Zavis is the Executive Director of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, and a long time activist in social change work.

The event was sponsored by the Sacred Inclusion Network, and was held April 23, 2023. The panelists emphasize the importance of community and collective efforts in their work, highlighting the power of inclusivity and connection. Links:

Abdullah's Commonway.org

The Network of Spiritual Progressives

The On Being Project

Sacred Inclusion Network

Sacred Inclusion Network's Sacred Inclusion Network Facebook Group

Sacred Inclusion Network's YouTube Channel 

Like the podcast? Support us on Patreon!

Check out the Diversity and Spirituality's newest podcast

[psychmeout]

Searching for a pastor has renewed my excitement for the journey

Our church has been searching for a more permanent minister,and is on the cusp of (fingers crossed) hiring one our community has befriended, through having guest ministers in the pulpit.

Reading the most recent profile that came in, I think about what my own answers would be. When the time comes, how will I represent myself?

There are many questions on the profile to ponder. What are my experiences with ecumenicalism, for example? And what oportunities will there be to add to my experiences?

In a previous course, I had taken a liking to Stuart Matlins "How to be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook ". It helped me understand how to be mindful and respectful in other religious environments. For example, my own denomination is quite casual in dress- this wouldn't fly in all other churches or places of worship. Some churches expect a certain level of participation- others do not, from strangers. Customs and matters of how to show respect vary.

I have visited Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim places of worship. I know that the focus of ecumenicalism is usually to unite Christian denominations under common causesand doctrines, but I do not find myself so much doctrinally focused. Instead, I am focused on peace and unity, among all religious expressions (save for those that cause active harm to folks).

I think that crossing religious barriers in a friendly manner, working together and learning to understand one another is invaluable. We do not have to worship the same way to share spiritual experiences, and we all have more in common than not. My favorite experience was sitting down with the imam of a mosque. This was at a point where Islamaphobia was rearing its ugly head in our communities, as it often does over time. The imam, unfortunately, felt it necesary to explain to me (a college student at the time) that Islam is not a religion of hate. We should be promoting understanding and embracing the commonalities between us- so that no religious minority in our community feels that pressure.

As for Christianity, my own church has shared worship services with other churches in town. My favorite worship experience in another Christian denomination was at an American Baptist church. They had based a whole lenten sermon series on a book "Into the Dark Woods" (Eric Elnes). I had not read the book- but the sermon inspired me to, and it became a quick favorite!

At the heart of it, we're all there for the same reasons, grasping at our own conception of the Almighty. I have been to Methodist, Presbytarian, American Baptist and Catholic services. Congregational church services are such a melting pot of traditions that I recognized pieces of others in ourselves. I was at awe with ways of worship that I had not considered, and found meaning in. Yes... I think that the more we can gather together for a common cause or purpose, with people across the spiritual waters, the better off we are! Interreligious and interdenominational experiences will help us be more empathetic people.

[snissel613]

Sorry but the Frogzilla plague of frogs isn't actually a valid reading of the text. True, 8:2 does use the singular form of the word, but every single other pasuk in the passage uses the plural, referring to many frogs in the plural. The single frog reading brought down by Rashi refers to one frog (often depicted as large) that split into many smaller frogs as the Egyptians hit it.

The more direct reading of the text (also brought down by Rashi btw) is that the singular noun refers to an entire swarm of frogs.

[interpolationz]

helpp my dad just asked me who bill cipher isssss

apparently my sisters friends cat is named after him and when my dad wondered about it she said to ask me ;-;

[highlifeboat]

Yeah, we get second hand account of what happened, so it's not exactly clear what happened. But Hewie Emmirich definitely intended to kill his step-daughter, let's focus on that :p

Oh, no, there are clones involved. Who do you think Eva's children are?😁 (No, they not her clones. She's surrogate mother :p She even got codename "Big mama", because of that🤣)

Unrelated, but Doctor Strangelove (not her real name, btw. Her staff called her that, because... Well, she was openly a lesbian :p That's right, that woman literally reclaimed a slur!)

Her death definitely something tho: Killed by a raging heterosexual man, by being locked inside her old female lover, resurrected as an AI :p

What... Kind of wack ass shit is happening in the Metal Gear Solid lore.

wait is this shit like Si-Fi type cause nothing I've ever seen from these games has ever given that impression.

[mannabibleinstitute]

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[moonesaiky]

〃 A friendly game of Interdenominational checkers ✮⋆˙

[angelojohnlewis]

The Intersection of Faith and Activism: Cat Zavis on Spirituality and Social Justice

Cat Zavis discusses her personal journey and insights on integrating spiritualism and activism. Zavis is Executive Director of the Network of Spiritual Progressives

Cat and her colleague, Rabbi Michael Lerner, have worked tirelessly to build a Religious left movement in Israel, countering the religious right movement. They recognize the trauma and PTSD experienced by both Israelis and Palestinians and understand that Israel, as the dominant power, has the responsibility to address the unjust and inhumane situation created through the occupation.

Having personally witnessed the devastating situation in the occupied territories, Cat emphasizes the need for healing, repair, acknowledgment, and transformation to move towards justice. Trauma plays a significant role in both Israeli and Palestinian reactions, reinforcing a cycle of domination and imposing trauma on others.

This episode was recorded as a precurser to the April 2023 Sacred Inclusion Network Syposium on Spiritualty and Social Justice.

Zavis shares her journey of discovering her passion for social justice. Although she always felt a spiritual connection as a secular Jew and explored various spiritual paths she didn't find answers that integrated her outrage and passion until she discovered Judaism's powerful blend of spirituality and social justice. She highlights the tension between the domination worldview, which promotes power and oppression, and the love worldview, rooted in connection and care. Social change movements often reflect these contrasting ideologies, and the work of social justice extends beyond fights for specific issues to raising consciousness.

The conversation delves into the importance of prophetic empathy as a bridge between these worldviews. While activism can sometimes conflict with spiritual beliefs, it is necessary to heal the world. Zavis draws inspiration from the story of Moses, who was sent to overthrow the consciousness of oppression. Engaging in social justice work can be profoundly spiritual, challenging, and transformative.

The episode concludes by discussing the importance of embracing people of different faith traditions while acknowledging historical trauma associated with oppressive religious practices. It is vital for activists to have a spiritual center to ground themselves and sustain their work, and younger generations are recognizing the need for spiritual support in their activism

Links:

Network of Spiritual Progressives

Sacred Inclusion Network

Sacred Inclusion Network's Sacred Inclusion Network Facebook Group

Sacred Inclusion Network's YouTube Channel 

Like the podcast? Support us on Patreon!

Check out the Diversity and Spirituality's newest podcast

[that-love-is-all-there-is]

love this post tbh, generalizations about huge groups of religious people bother me in all directions, AND!! generalizations about Protestants are so often just wrong oops! my church growing up (with which I don't affiliate but find myself at stuff sometimes Because Family) was WELS and they very much believe in a real presence of a kind. and infant baptism

and sorry to rant, but i wonder how much of this comes from taking one's own assumptions about what religion "should be" and extrapolating it onto others wholesale though?? I have a Catholic friend, who when I desperately tried to explain that protestants can believe in the real presence in communion, kept saying "but only Catholic priests can consecrate, so no protestant churches have anything but symbolic communion". which like, if you believe that fine whatever. but PROTESTANTS WHO BELIEVE IN REAL PRESENCE DISAGREE! she just kept saying, "Lutheran communion is only memorial because Lutherans don't have priests with valid apostolic succession" and that protestants therefore don't have the real presence, which I wasn't even addressing, merely the belief in it.

[side note, it makes me wonder regularly how much of me is still basically Lutheran, that being told Lutheran communion isn't Jesus made me basically mouth-frothy. like, call Lutherans heretics, I don't bat an eye. say Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament only visits Catholic churches and I'm barely restraining myself from throwing hands here]

all love and respect to the catholics on here, and of course there are many beautiful things about catholicism that are indeed specific to catholicism, but sometimes I read posts on here from people describing why they are catholic or what's special about catholicism to them, and it's (almost) all things that are present in many protestant churches as well. some of y'all see all of protestantism as just 1 very specific thing based on whatever branch of it you're most familiar with, and it shows. please continue being catholic and loving being catholic but maybe open your eyes to the wide variety of practices in the protestant world

[soup-mother]

don't even get me started on how people keep acting like Evangelicalism is a distinct denomination of Christianity instead of an interdenominational movement in Protestantism.

[fangirlingpuggle]

Silly Billford AU idea where Bill and Ford are married but it's Stan's fault.

Ford has marriage cert that's already signed by Bill from a certain drunk karaoke night never completed as the realization of what portal was far happened and form got lost among other papers as Ford tried to figure out how to stop Bill and sliding into full paranoia mode.

After portal incident Stan is assuming Ford's identity and has to fill in a lot of forms and deal with a lot of stuff built up while Ford was in full paranoia mode as he wasn't really completing any paperwork or bills.

So Stan is working through all this stuff and trying to figure out what to do next? He has to rebuild the portal and make money and be his brother... it's a lot. So he stops really paying attention he;s not fully reading forms.

So he doesn't really look at the form that requires Ford signature that's been forgotten under a pile another forms and he's so tired he doesn't even notice as form disappears after signed.

Ford is very confused later when after everything he's contacted about his husband, he knows he never signed anything.

The interdenominational being assures him he did.

'Well someone signed it and it wouldn't count unless the person who signed it was completely genetically the same as you so unless a clone of yours signed it -' Ford stops listening and starts trying to throw his brother overboard.

Ford:I'M GOING TO KILL YOU STANLEY

Stan: DON'T BLAME ME SIXER, WHY IN THE HELL DID YOU EVEN HAVE THOSE PAPERS?

[artyphex]

At some interdenominational bar where characters go after end of season miscommunication based break ups:

Crowley: So, yours also went back to his old, uppity life?

Ed: That he did

Crowley: After you’d laid out your whole heart for him?

Ed: The whole bloody thing

Crowley: I know how that feels.

Ed: Yeah?

Crowley: Drank myself blind at first. Then crawled somewhere dark and just stayed there. Don’t think I saw the sun or… got off the floor for a month.

Ed: I threw the closest person he had to a best friend in the ocean, left his crew to starve on a rock smaller than my whole ship, destroyed everything he’d ever touched, and went on a murderous rampage

Crowley:

Ed: What?

Crowley: Just thought I was the demon in this conversation

[ominous-signs]

Official ominous sign

[kushblazer666]

quick guide to understanding christian outreach groups trying to confuse you with language (usa specific)

interdenominational: they are libbed the fuck out and you can say you believe literally anything and they will go “oh fuck yeah.” if you are gay trans or queer in any way the entire congregation will dap you up. also if you attend services they will have you singing pilgrim hymns. if you see a church with a pride flag/banner that isnt episcopalian it’s these guys

nondenominational: these are evangelical nutjobs and the pastor is approximately two point five bad days from recreating waco 2. when people talk about “christian zionists” this is who they mean

[skibidiestsigmaa]

swap au specifically for me where fiddleford and ford are swapped and fiddlefords muse is a interdenominational supercomputer

cough