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Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Monday, November 26, 2018
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Facing Death Without Religion
How do non-religious people – which now comprise nearly 30% of the American population – face the coming of death? That’s the subject of Dr. Christel Manning’s John Templeton Foundation-funded research project.
Although a fair amount is known about how religious people face the certainty of their demise, relatively little is known how non-religious people do. This category, which religious studies scholars refer to as “the nones,” now comprises 27% of the population, up from about 7% in the 1980s.
Unlike their religious contemporaries, this group lacks the powerful set of stories, symbols and rituals that have for generations characterized the predominate American approach to dealing with dying. This group instead relies on different types of what Manning refers to as “maps of meaning.” These might include the sense-making that comes from personal growth narratives gained from such processes such as engaging in a 12-step program or therapy after surviving a divorce.
In this podcast, Manning describes her own belief-system journey; what is currently known about how aging people in general approach the coming of death; and the new types of secular rituals that are emerging to help non-religions people become more comfortable with death and dying.
- Manning’s faculty page
- Her research project’s description
- Death Cafe website
- Diversity and Spirituality Network's site
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Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Friday, October 26, 2018
Someone painted this rock and left it outside in my progressive town...
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Friday, October 19, 2018
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Improvisation and Spiritual Practice
For Jules Munns, the art of improvisation he’s devoted his life to is much more than simply a type of theatrical performance. Improv, he says, is as an activity that helps people uncover previously hidden aspects of their selves and thus become more fully human.
Munns here explores the notion of improvisation as spiritual practice. Just as is the aim of passive meditation, improvisation helps practitioners achieve mindfulness, awakening and a connection to a larger Mystery and deeper meaning. In addition, it helps practitioners do something that most forms of mediation do not: connect and interact with others in surprising and unscripted ways.
Munns is the co-Artistic Director of the Nursery Theater and the founder of Slapdash International, London’s longest running festival of improvisation. He’s also a performing member of the Maydays, an award-winning improvised comedy company with bases in Brighton and London. One of the UK’s most prolific improv teachers and actors, he's performed and taught at festivals across the UK and in countries including the US, Pakistan, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Finland.
Links:
- The Maydays
- The Nursery Theater
- Jules Munns Site
- Diversity and Spirituality Network's site
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Sunday, October 14, 2018
I stand with my indigenous brothers and sisters, whose legacy...
I stand with my indigenous brothers and sisters, whose legacy endures despite Trails of Tears and attempts to disappear them from their country’s memory… (at Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo6S6urAy84/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=tsyms4h3cd1p
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My new thrift store kicks! Even though they were a bit too big,...
My new thrift store kicks! Even though they were a bit too big, had to have them. Put a new insole on these babies and a little shoe-stretch stuff on them, and let them walk my body around. Italian leather, square front. Jello’s in the house! (at Lambertville, New Jersey)
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Friday, October 05, 2018
The One Thing that all women, POC, LGBT and all...
The One Thing that all women, POC, LGBT and all “marginalized” people share… ( listen to the entire podcast here: https://radiopublic.com/the-podcast-of-the-diversity-and-GqzL4P/ep/s1!db096 )
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Thursday, September 27, 2018
The Radically Inclusive Ministry of Yvette Flunder
It was a gradual process that led the young Yvette Flunder to question the tenets of the United Church of Christ in which she was born and raised. She couldn’t reconcile her emerging beliefs with her church’s patriarchal orientation and its emphasis on preparing adherents for the next world rather than addressing the injustices and inadequacies of this one. She also realized she never again could call herself a member of a church that completely rejected same-gender-loving people such as herself.
Bishop Flunder here traces the path that led her to become a visionary religious leader with a mission of tending to the spiritual needs of marginalized people around the world, particularly those of African-American descent. She speaks of her vision of radical inclusion,which she believes requires an equally radical social ministry reaching to the furthest margins of society to serve all in need without prejudice or discrimination.
“The greatest mistake at the Christian church has ever made was to put a back cover on the book, to somehow suggest that we could make a manual out of the living word of God,” she said.
Reverend Flunder is the founder and senior pastor of the City of Refugee United Church of Christ in Oakland, California. In 2003, she was appointed Presiding Bishop of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, a multi-denominational coalition of over 56 churches and faith-based organizations from all over the world. She’s also the author of Where the Edge Gathers: A Theology of Homiletic Radical Inclusion.
Links:
- City of Refuge United Church of Christ
- Fellowship of Affirming Ministries
- Diversity and Spirituality Network's site
- Record a response to this episode
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Friday, September 14, 2018
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Creating Communities of Choice
Organization Development Robert Leventhal explains why there’s a decline in synagogue and church attendance, how congregations can reverse this trend, and his thoughts on next generation engagement strategies.
According to Leventhal, external force fields make it necessary for churches and synagogues to change to remain relevant to a new generation. Synagogues in particular can no longer be content to be ethnic enclaves but instead must evolve to be more outward facing and responsive to the needs of potential new members.
A former sales and management consultant, Leventhal for the past two decades has had a synagogue consulting practice that has worked with organizations that include Yeshiva University, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and the UJA Federation of New York. Previously a consultant with the Alban Institiute, he’s now the Kehilla Leadership Specialist for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the largest network of Conservative Jewish congregations in the world.
Leventhal is the author of Byachad: Synagogue Board Development and Stepping Forward: Synagogue Visioning and Planning.
Links:
- About Robert Leventhal
- UNCJ
- Diversity and Spirituality Network's site
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Thursday, August 16, 2018
Flame Wars in Spiritual Spaces
During the summer of 2018, what happened behind the scenes of two online events exposed the painful fact that the wound of race is as present in the spiritual space as anywhere else. The run-up to both of these events sparked heated flame wars, contested on one side by white women with a history of promoting progressive causes and on the other side primarily by woman of color who perceived these events as reeking what some described as cultural appropriation and others described as racism masked by privilege.
One woman who described herself as triggered by these events is Wendy C. Williams, an African-American spiritual life coach and energy healer. In this podcast, Williams reflects on what went down during the run-up to ill-fated Urban Priestess Summit and Danielle LaPorte's Lighter program, lessons that each group might learn from their participation in the flame wars, the psychology of triggering and appropriate ways to react.
Williams also talks about growing up in a Jehovah’s Witness household, the emerging agency of African-American women, and how to harness spiritual power. In addition to having practiced spiritual counseling for the past decade, Williams has a degree in counseling psychology and has lived internationally.
Links:
- Wendy’s site
- Facebook background on the Urban Priestess Summit
- Facebook background on Lighter
- Diversity and Spirituality Network’s site
- Record a response to this episode
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Tuesday, August 07, 2018
Friday, August 03, 2018
Have you heard ‘The Poet, the Buddhist, the Transssexual’ by Diversity and Spirituality Network on #SoundCloud? #np http://bit.ly/2vwT3fP
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