Andrew, I'm a social historian (MA in Am Soc and Cul History, worked for several years in Cleveland area museums before I became a journalist), so I've been following WCN (such a misnomer...so not Christians) for several years.
I get what you are saying about the bishop's "fight" with the Pope: he's dealing with an "influx" crisis of Christians with values/experiences far different from what he signed up for. And he's also dealing with the very real experience-based fears of his "flock" while at the same time hearing "welcome the stranger, no matter what" for the Pope. Definitely a rock and a hard place situation for him (and I suspect many other spiritual leaders).
And it's not just CA and TX that are dealing with huge "influxes," it's all border states. I haven't been following what's happening in/with northern border states, but I would suspect that they are seeing an influx of undocumented Europeans, especially from Ukraine (eastern states) and Asians (western states).
I had a prof in college (half a century ago, btw) who said "geography is everything." I didn't get it then. I sure do NOW.
And finally, if you do a newsletter/update, please add me to your mailing list: eojb@visn.net is my email.
Thank you, Diana! Excellent take on this, and yes, the apathy is appalling. I do not understand a read of Jesus that wouldn't demand the basic compassion of at least *trying* to address this crisis. Which is entangled with so many others that are being met with the same. My mind is boggled. But it does find hope and community here.
I congratulate you on all the heat you generated with this insightful (and pointed) musing. Where there is heat, sometimes there is also bumping up against plain truths that, no matter how much they don't align with a person's wants/beliefs, do make sense. Sometimes a bit of sense, sometimes (I'm thinking Galileo here) ah-ha sense.
Still, I'm scratching my head about all the people (a dwendling few of whom are scientists) who are in denial about climate change. And, more to the point, who (not what) is causing it.
Diana, I had to respond to you before going further with Sunday’s lesson. I so highly value your creating the creation lessons. This is my highest priority and my highest pain to see the climate suffering. Thank you for speaking as you do. Those who are critical, I would suspect, are afraid of looking at the truth and quite possibly making changes.
Chasing wild boars like a mad woman! Lol! Spot on as usual. Sorry to hear about the attacks and cancellations etc. Sad. The prophetic path is so damn painful! March on!!
I find it staggering how many Christians seem to take no notice of our call to stewardship of the planet, and are so blind as to not care about the effects of environmental change on the poorest populations of the world, that they put themselves in opposition to the environmental movement, instead of where they should be - at the head of it.
I'm so grateful to have discovered your writing and your ideas (and the poems you find!). And so sorry that you've been attacked for writing truthfully about what's happening, what we're doing, to Earth. It's exhausting sometimes, isn't it, how quickly and intensely people draw battle lines. Thank you for persisting.
Thank you for this special musing. I am Roman Catholic and Pope Francis and the Vatican put out Laudato Deum as a sequel this week (if you will) to Laudato Si. The American Bishops are very uncooperative with Pope Francis. The Diocese of San Diego leads the way with their climate care of creation mission . Getting other dioceses in the USA to follow that lead is not going well as the Bishops are politicized. They like being a cog in the hierarchy but they don’t cooperate with the obedient portion of their vows in relation to the Pope. The patriarchy is killing people and ruining the planet. We must continue to speak out.
Thank you mucho for this informative look at/into where the US Catholic Church and it's (institutionalized) leadership stand with regard to the stewardship of the planet (and those resident upon it). My gut tells me (red hatted, vestmented, and backward looking) they are as out of touch with reality and their flocks as are certain worldly leaders that I will not herein name.
Eileen: Pope Francis is quite aware. It is truly the American (GOP) bishops who are uncooperative. He can’t fire the uncooperative ones because the bench for replacements is weak... :x
I also know that the bishop from East Texas is at the Vatican right now fighting with the pope. So, yes, there can be some regionality but both Texas and California have in influx of migrants from the south and that will continue and increase as the southern hemisphere gets hotter and drought stricken. Politically, White Christian Nationalism is a threat.
Eileen: that’s an excellent question! I am working directly with the Vatican thru the Laudato Si Action Platform. We have monthly worldwide meetings on line in various languages-translated of course. I have been doing this for over two years now and I can tell you that the Diocese of SAN DIEGO California is way out front on climate change MISSION Work- more so than any other American diocese. I live in Ohio and my bishop does nothing even though we all suffered wildfire smoke it wasn’t a sufficient enough wake up call apparently. I
I am both sorry and perplexed, Diana, that you took so much heat for writing/talking about so much heat. Your intent was to shed light on heat. Some people prefer to live in the dark, I guess. It can be very cold in the dark.
Thank you Diana for always expanding my views on the Bible. I’m sad that some are critical of your work but I for one and for many I’m sure are eternally grateful to hear such prophetic words. Please keep doing your work. Even if some aren’t able to hear them. I love these words of yours. “But both things — the political failure to make democracy work and the theological failure of American churches — should prompt spiritual examination and serious reordering of our own lives and institutions.” May we all examine and reorder our lives today.
Dear Diana: I am so very sad to hear of folks who have been so critical of your vision and hope. Wondering if you are familiar with the book Unsettling the Word - Biblical Experiments in Decolonization edited by Steve Heinrichs. I just finished reading the last piece entitled Turtle Island Renewed which is a lovely contemporary take on Revelation 21:22-24. It gave me comfort and warmed my broken heart a bit. Thought it might do that for you, too. Keep on keeping on dear one.
These kind of reactions drive me further from Christianity. Your writing and some others keeps a thread tethered. I don't know what I believe theologically but I know what I've experienced spiritually, how to reconcile some kind of faith is an ongoing challenge...
Diana, I don’t disagree with anything here. However, I am struggling with the Democrats all siding with the crazy wing of the Republican Party to oust the Speaker. Like him or hate him, he was in the position because he had just gone against the minority wacko wing and created a deal with the Democrats to keep the government open. His reward was to be ousted by those he joined with. It looked to me like an opportunity for Democrats to help put down the wackos and show they had no power. Instead, they sided with them, giving them power and then claiming to a one that this was not their problem to solve. I continue to come to the belief that we need a whole new fresh set of people and ideas in our governmental halls. I do have hope that my kids generation will move us there.
Randy, I'm scratching my head at that "situation," too. That said, perhaps a bit of good may come out of it: all voters will SEE and (finally) UNDERSTAND how irrational certain members of a certain party are...and vote them out of office.
Thank you for not shying away from controversial topics. I'm upgrading my subscription to show my support.
Andrew, I'm a social historian (MA in Am Soc and Cul History, worked for several years in Cleveland area museums before I became a journalist), so I've been following WCN (such a misnomer...so not Christians) for several years.
I get what you are saying about the bishop's "fight" with the Pope: he's dealing with an "influx" crisis of Christians with values/experiences far different from what he signed up for. And he's also dealing with the very real experience-based fears of his "flock" while at the same time hearing "welcome the stranger, no matter what" for the Pope. Definitely a rock and a hard place situation for him (and I suspect many other spiritual leaders).
And it's not just CA and TX that are dealing with huge "influxes," it's all border states. I haven't been following what's happening in/with northern border states, but I would suspect that they are seeing an influx of undocumented Europeans, especially from Ukraine (eastern states) and Asians (western states).
I had a prof in college (half a century ago, btw) who said "geography is everything." I didn't get it then. I sure do NOW.
And finally, if you do a newsletter/update, please add me to your mailing list: eojb@visn.net is my email.
Thank you, Diana! Excellent take on this, and yes, the apathy is appalling. I do not understand a read of Jesus that wouldn't demand the basic compassion of at least *trying* to address this crisis. Which is entangled with so many others that are being met with the same. My mind is boggled. But it does find hope and community here.
Rev. DBB,
I congratulate you on all the heat you generated with this insightful (and pointed) musing. Where there is heat, sometimes there is also bumping up against plain truths that, no matter how much they don't align with a person's wants/beliefs, do make sense. Sometimes a bit of sense, sometimes (I'm thinking Galileo here) ah-ha sense.
Still, I'm scratching my head about all the people (a dwendling few of whom are scientists) who are in denial about climate change. And, more to the point, who (not what) is causing it.
Diana, I had to respond to you before going further with Sunday’s lesson. I so highly value your creating the creation lessons. This is my highest priority and my highest pain to see the climate suffering. Thank you for speaking as you do. Those who are critical, I would suspect, are afraid of looking at the truth and quite possibly making changes.
Thanks for sharing your writings
Chasing wild boars like a mad woman! Lol! Spot on as usual. Sorry to hear about the attacks and cancellations etc. Sad. The prophetic path is so damn painful! March on!!
I find it staggering how many Christians seem to take no notice of our call to stewardship of the planet, and are so blind as to not care about the effects of environmental change on the poorest populations of the world, that they put themselves in opposition to the environmental movement, instead of where they should be - at the head of it.
I'm so grateful to have discovered your writing and your ideas (and the poems you find!). And so sorry that you've been attacked for writing truthfully about what's happening, what we're doing, to Earth. It's exhausting sometimes, isn't it, how quickly and intensely people draw battle lines. Thank you for persisting.
Thank you for this special musing. I am Roman Catholic and Pope Francis and the Vatican put out Laudato Deum as a sequel this week (if you will) to Laudato Si. The American Bishops are very uncooperative with Pope Francis. The Diocese of San Diego leads the way with their climate care of creation mission . Getting other dioceses in the USA to follow that lead is not going well as the Bishops are politicized. They like being a cog in the hierarchy but they don’t cooperate with the obedient portion of their vows in relation to the Pope. The patriarchy is killing people and ruining the planet. We must continue to speak out.
Thank you mucho for this informative look at/into where the US Catholic Church and it's (institutionalized) leadership stand with regard to the stewardship of the planet (and those resident upon it). My gut tells me (red hatted, vestmented, and backward looking) they are as out of touch with reality and their flocks as are certain worldly leaders that I will not herein name.
Eileen: Pope Francis is quite aware. It is truly the American (GOP) bishops who are uncooperative. He can’t fire the uncooperative ones because the bench for replacements is weak... :x
Thanks for more insight. Silly me: didn't realize how politicized the Am Bishops are.
A question: is it the western/southern bishops (to be expected), or all of the R-leaning bishops.
I also know that the bishop from East Texas is at the Vatican right now fighting with the pope. So, yes, there can be some regionality but both Texas and California have in influx of migrants from the south and that will continue and increase as the southern hemisphere gets hotter and drought stricken. Politically, White Christian Nationalism is a threat.
Eileen: that’s an excellent question! I am working directly with the Vatican thru the Laudato Si Action Platform. We have monthly worldwide meetings on line in various languages-translated of course. I have been doing this for over two years now and I can tell you that the Diocese of SAN DIEGO California is way out front on climate change MISSION Work- more so than any other American diocese. I live in Ohio and my bishop does nothing even though we all suffered wildfire smoke it wasn’t a sufficient enough wake up call apparently. I
I am both sorry and perplexed, Diana, that you took so much heat for writing/talking about so much heat. Your intent was to shed light on heat. Some people prefer to live in the dark, I guess. It can be very cold in the dark.
Thank you Diana for always expanding my views on the Bible. I’m sad that some are critical of your work but I for one and for many I’m sure are eternally grateful to hear such prophetic words. Please keep doing your work. Even if some aren’t able to hear them. I love these words of yours. “But both things — the political failure to make democracy work and the theological failure of American churches — should prompt spiritual examination and serious reordering of our own lives and institutions.” May we all examine and reorder our lives today.
Dear Diana: I am so very sad to hear of folks who have been so critical of your vision and hope. Wondering if you are familiar with the book Unsettling the Word - Biblical Experiments in Decolonization edited by Steve Heinrichs. I just finished reading the last piece entitled Turtle Island Renewed which is a lovely contemporary take on Revelation 21:22-24. It gave me comfort and warmed my broken heart a bit. Thought it might do that for you, too. Keep on keeping on dear one.
These kind of reactions drive me further from Christianity. Your writing and some others keeps a thread tethered. I don't know what I believe theologically but I know what I've experienced spiritually, how to reconcile some kind of faith is an ongoing challenge...
I hear these prophetic words and am grateful for your courage in speaking.
Diana, I don’t disagree with anything here. However, I am struggling with the Democrats all siding with the crazy wing of the Republican Party to oust the Speaker. Like him or hate him, he was in the position because he had just gone against the minority wacko wing and created a deal with the Democrats to keep the government open. His reward was to be ousted by those he joined with. It looked to me like an opportunity for Democrats to help put down the wackos and show they had no power. Instead, they sided with them, giving them power and then claiming to a one that this was not their problem to solve. I continue to come to the belief that we need a whole new fresh set of people and ideas in our governmental halls. I do have hope that my kids generation will move us there.
Randy, I'm scratching my head at that "situation," too. That said, perhaps a bit of good may come out of it: all voters will SEE and (finally) UNDERSTAND how irrational certain members of a certain party are...and vote them out of office.