Except for monthly Vital Conversations convened by David Nelson, CRES programs arise by request. Our management principle is "management by opportunity." Every year we are delighted by the number of opportunties given to us, as, for example, last year's list demonstrates. (Of course we also provide free consulation to organizations and other services as requested, not listed on our public website.) |
Transcendent meanings from COVID-19?
#MLK ![]() King Holiday Essay — 2022 January 7 and Jan17 Download a PDF of Vern's 2-page summary of the genius of the spiritual approach of Martin Luther King Jr by clicking this link. You can also read the Letter from a Birmingham Jail here. February 1-7 ![]() To celebrate World Interfaith Harmony week, we offer one of our most cited essays, "Stealing Another's Faith." The question of honoring without misappropriating material from others is not so easy, and this essay raises awareness so faiths can be less in conflict and more in harmony. Read, download this PDF, and share this important essay by Vern -- with excerpts from Huston Smith and Harvey Cox. #220208 A Martian Muses on Monotheism
What would a Martian report after surveying the religions of our
planet? How are monotheistic faiths similar to one another and
different from primal and Asian faiths? Vern has seen a purloined copy
of the Martian's study, and discloses these findings to the group,
offers an exercise for individual assessments of the strength of
various dimensions of faith in one's experience (creed, code, cultus,
community), and welcomes questions and responses. ![]() 2021 Febuary 8 Tuesday 1 pm Zoom link posted here by Monday. Retired Clergy of All Faiths -- guests welcome Zoom Meeting Recording may be available soon. Vern suggestions preparing for the program by having paper and marker handy. You can draw two empty circles in advance. A summary of the Martian report is here below. following a few reminders about "religion." MORE HERE. CAVEATS FOR THE STUDY OF “RELIGION” 1. “Religion” as often understood today developed from the Reformation’s distinction between secular and church domains, and from the West’s Enlightenment categories of thought. 2. Religions don't differ from each other so much by offering different answers to the similar questions as by exploring different questions. Religions are like more like different games and sports (chess, baseball, charades, tennis, swimming), with different rules, scoring, and outcomes, rather than like a football league with different teams playing each other. 3. Religions change throughout history. 4. Religions are influenced by one another and sometimes incorporate elements from each other. 5. Within a single tradition, many variations are common. 6. Boundaries around religions vary, some tight, some porous. 7. Even religions that emphasize theoretical concerns retain elements of the earlier unitive (mystical, "peak" experiences), enactive (ritual), and narrative (story) developments. 8. Scholars who seek to identify components or dimensions of religions sometimes use the scheme of 4 C's: Creed (concepts or "beliefs"), Code (rules, moral expectations), Cultus (ritual practices), and Community (informal and institutional shapes and boundaries of adherents relating to one another). MOST RELIGIONS are not as focused on "beliefs" as much as many Christians. ![]() #Monotheisms From the Martian Report: CHARACTERISTICS OF MONOTHEISM 1. Monotheisms find the sacred in historical events and processes. 2. Most monotheisms identify a singular or pivotal event in history. 3. Most focus on the disharmony between God's will and the existing social order. 4. Revelation is mediated, often creating interpretive and doctrinal concerns. 5. Usually a covenant is the basis of the community. 6. Eschatological expectations and incipient dualism may be weak or strong. 7. Mysticism is not normative, and often secondary, perhaps even judged heretical. 8. Stephen Prothero identifies the problem each of the three main monotheistic faiths seeks to answer. For Judaism, the problem is exile from God; the solution is keeping the commandments. For Christianity, the problem is sin; the solution is salvation through Christ. For Islam, the problem is self-sufficiency; the solution is submission to the will of God. T W
O E X A M P L E S O
F T H E C O V E N A N
T E M P H A S I S
#ZenHappiness Zen and Happiness: Practical Insights and Meditations to Cultivate Joy in Everyday
Life Reviewed by Vern Barnet The Rev. Dr. Joshua R. Paszkiewicz
is a multireligious cleric and scholar uniquely trained and transmitted
in the Zen traditions of Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. He has studied and
taught Zen throughout the world and has served as an official delegate
to numerous notable events, including the first White House Buddhist
Leaders Conference and the United Nations' World Day of Vesak. Dr.
Paszkiewicz has earned a diverse array of academic degrees and
certifications in the fields of religion, psychology, education,
business, and healthcare. On a day-to-day basis, Joshua maintains a
private practice of spiritually integrative psychotherapy, teaches
traditional life protection arts, and serves as spiritual director and
consultant to numerous students, teachers, and communities around the
globe. He can be found online at DRJRP.com. Josh is known locally through his many, many paths of service, including assisting the Interfaith Council through
its strategic planning process. I was fortunate to have him as a
graduate student at Central Baptist Theological Seminary where he was
less my student than my teacher. CRES minister emeritus (founder of the Interfaith Council) One way of understanding 21 years since 9/11 While the 9/11 attacks 20 years ago opened the gates of hell, the way our government has responded has brought us inside hell's domain. The smoke from that day, the acrid fumes, amplified into war, brings us purblind to the charred and hobbled Body Politic. How do we understand what has happened? How do we move forward?
1. Before 911, terrorism had been dealt with as a CRIME, internationally and at home. The violation of life and property in an otherwise orderly society makes the terrorist an especially despised outlaw. We employ a legal system to assure justice by punishing the criminal and removing the criminal from society. International courts have done the same. 2. But since September 11 we have used a WAR metaphor. Of course the metaphor is hardly new. We love war. We have fought the war against poverty and the war against drugs, though it is hard for us to admit defeat, even though Vietnam and Afghanistan are history now. We still fight the war against cancer, against crime, against . . . you name it. But a war against terrorism was new. The metaphor had power because we struggled not just against isolated attack but against an organized force seeking not just advantage through harm of a target but rather destruction of a government or civilization. Though we ourselves use violence, we assumed our own righteousness would bring us victory over evil. Both of the metaphors of crime and war too easily commend themselves because they are simple, and rest on the assumption that we are wholly good — and our opponents are completely evil. 3. A third metaphor might come closer to the complexity of the situation: DISEASE. Here the metaphor suggests not two separate, competing powers but of all humanity as a sick body, within the organs of communities, cities, and nations, afflicted in various ways, degrading or sustaining each other in different degrees, infected with individuals and groups poisoned (using Buddhist language) with greed, fear, and ignorance. Now, with COVID, we are learning that, as Martin Luther King said, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Just so, CRES insists that the three great crises of our time, in the environment, in personhood, and in the social order, are all intertwined. And that the world's Primal, Asian, and Monotheistic traditions, respectively, provide the therapy to heal the planet, revivify personhood, and restore social order. Let us bring the healing powers of generosity, fellowship, and understanding to one another, expanding a circle of joy in service. Vern
On the first anniversary of 9/11, CRES opened a day-long observance beginning with a water ceremony between City Hall and the Federal Justice Center, later shown on national CBS-TV. Click here to see a 3-minute excerpt from that ritual.
Vern offers his conclusions
from 50 years of experience and study: in a troubled world, what paths
lie forward? and how can one dare offer praise for the intertwined mix
horror and beauty of existence?
![]() September 23 Thursday 6:30-7:30pm Annual TABLE OF FAITHS “From the Front Lines: Spirituality in Times of Crisis” honors chaplains, first responders and many others who have played such a critical role in our lives these past months. A Virtual Fundraiser and Signature event of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council now independent but originally a program of CRES. Vern Barnet founded the Council
in 1989 and is Council Convener Emeritus. The Council newsletter has
published his brief notes about three
milestones in the early history of the Council.
#ThgvgSunday November Sunday Date to be announced INTERFAITH THANKSGIVING GATHERING “Promoting Interfaith Peace, Renewal and Regrowth” ![]() FREE online interfaith gathering -- including interfaith prayers of gratitude. lHosted by Heartland Chapter of the Alliance of Divine Love Co-sponsored by Greater KC Interfaith Council https://www.facebook.com/events/793753937932632 ![]() The annual observance was sponsored by CRES for its first 25 years. This year is the 36th year of the tradition and we are indeed grateful to the sponsors for perpetuating the recognition of the place of gratitude in every faith. OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
Having spawned several other organizations, including the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, we continue to offer programs initiated by and through others but we no longer create our own in order to focus on our unique work. For interfaith and cultural calendars maintained by other groups, click here. |
A Free Monthly Discussion Group Led by David E Nelson C R E S senior associate minister president, The Human Agenda “The purpose of a Vital Conversation is not to
win an argument,
in dialog that will add value to the participants and to the world. In Vital Conversations, we become co-creators of a better community. —David Nelson The discussions began May 24, 2002, at the CRES facility by examining Karen Armstrong’sThe Battle for God
2022 Vital Conversations Schedule
#vcJan
Quotations and questions selected by David Nelson
“It’s the great mystery of human life that old grief passes gradually into a quiet tender joy.” --Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Releasing conversation: 1. “They were both born—like their older
sister—with Hurler Syndrome. Their stories are so intertwined in
my memory that I cannot adequately disentangle them.” P. 12. What is Hurler Syndrome and how is it treated? Why is this important in your life Howard? “What’s lost is nothing to what’s found
and all the death that ever was would scarcely full a cup.” --Frederick Buechner
This memoir tells of the author's growing up in New Zealand,
moving to the United States for college, and remaining in the USA for
marriage and raising a family. Beyond the timeline of life's
activities, friends, and family, the author also attempts to describe a
search for transcendence beyond everyday life that the subtitle of the
book refers to as the "joy beyond time." And so it was that I began to shift my focus from an anxious search in the forest of religion to a more restful surrender in the glade of simple trust. It was a shift of focus, not an attainment. I began to know a little of what it mean to rest in the grace of the world and breathe free. I was taken back to the whispers of the divine in the beauties of the natural world, the lives of kind and humble human beings, and to the miraculous stories of homeward return—like that of the prodigal son—I had heard in my earliest days. (p.214) The author ends the book with the following paragraph in which
he ties his boyhood memories of time spent in a small white boat with
his continuing experience of life today. In memory, I can still see my self as a kid floating in the safety of the little white boat. I see a time when I drifted in stillness on the glassy surface of the lake, the beauty around me mirrored in a Beauty within. I see a time when the waters seemed to rise up against me and, even with my brave little brother alongside, I felt vulnerable and afraid. I see a time when a great launch, regal in its trim of polished wood and brass, slowed down its heavy engines and smoothed the angry waves before me. And, as I follow in the wake of this Majestic Apparition, I see—even now—the sun-drenched shores of Home glowing on the farther shore.
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#vcFeb
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin.
Releasing Conversation: In Baldwin’s book several of the chapters are called “prayers.” Share your name and say something about prayer. What is prayer? How do you pray? What does prayer accomplish? 1. “It was his hatred and his intelligence
that he cherished, the one feeding the other. He lived for the day when
his father would be dying, and he, John, would curse him on his
deathbed.” 17. Describe John’s relationship to and with his father. What was his father’s relationship with John? With God? With himself?
This novel tells a story of teenaged John Grimes living in the 1930s Harlem district of New York City with his African American family and their charismatic Christianity. His stepfather is a deacon in the church and part time preacher who tries to impose restrictions on John and his half brother Roy hoping to prevent their exposure to the worldly and sinful Harlem community. The book’s chronology goes back in time for Part 2 of the book to explore the family’s roots in the American South to tell the stories of step-aunt Florence, step-father Gabriel, and mother Elizabeth. Then Part 3 of the book provides a vivid description of an ecstatic born-again experience of the book's protagonist, young John Grimes. My favorite quotation from the book:
In the above quotation, Gabriel is counting on the grace of God to forgive his sins. Florence, the speaker, reminds him of the damaged souls he’s left in his wake, and she warns him to stop making life miserable for Elizabeth and John or else she will make sure everybody learns about his unsavory past. I’m siding with Florence in the quotation above, and I’m not so sure about the virtue of God’s grace in this case. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - March 9 Wednesday 1-2:30 p.m. on Zoom Meeting ID: 832 3534 6541
Passcode: 076621
Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry
that Radicalized America
Releasing conversation: Share your name and list an organization you support. Quotations and Questions selected by David Nelson
This change in the American psyche mirrored a corresponding change in politics—Trumpian style in particular. It's hard to say which caused or responded to the other. Was the firearms industry fomenting the radicalization or was it radical, right-wing forces outside the industry that prodded firearms manufacturers down the incendiary and deadly path they are still on? This book tends to give the gun industry and NRA much of the credit. In either case they have: ... built a system that relies on a political police state to enforce 100 percent loyalty: no one can dare ask any questions without immediate repercussion. It is a culture that praises violence, one where 'getting your man card back' means that it's acceptable to do whatever it takes to establish your superiority.This book's story is told from the unique perspective of an insider. The author was actually in the room when many of the marketing decisions were made to take advantage of shifting cultural tides. The author's primary loyalty was to preservation of Public Lands and hunting and fishing, values that at one time were in sync with the interests of gun manufacturers. In clear and concise narrative the author tells of an increasing emphasis toward loyalty to the Republican Party, even when the Party's position did not value conservation issues. The author explains that he stayed within the gun industry for many years in the hope that he could exert some positive influence toward movement in a more wholesome direction. It is notable that his company, Kimber Manufacturing, never did market assault style rifles and continued to emphasize quality and workmanship. But the strain between the industry and his own values—and pressure from his wife and young children—finally convinced him to resign his position in 2020. The industry had moved away from him; he had not moved away from them. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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The Immigrants’ New Camera: A Family Collection
NATIONAL POETRY MONTH is a time to explore how words can explore the world is
beautiful ways. Quotations selected, and questions written, by David Nelson
Releasing Conversation: “Poetry is a type of literature based on the interplay of words and rhythm. It often employs rhyme and meter (a set of rules governing the number and arrangement of syllables in each line). In poetry, words are strung together to form sounds, images, and ideas that might be too complex or abstract to describe directly.” [LiteraryTerms.net] “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” [Shelley] Share your name and speak a few words about your favorite poem. 1. “Glimmering with the physical things of the world, offering a stepladder to the possible, Wagner’s fifth collection takes us back to awe and wonder.” [Jo McDougall.] What does that mean to you? What would you add in defining poetry and teaching poetry? 2. Maryfrances, could you tell us a few “steppingstones”
in your life that has brought you to this honor? When did you first
flirt with poetry? What events have been significant in your personal
and professional journey that you wish to share with those of us on
this Zoom gathering? Who are some of the poets you admire? How often do
you read poetry? Do you write poetry every day? 3. “The Missouri Poet Laureate enriches
Missourians’ lives throughout the state by fostering the reading and
writing of poetry, through public appearances, readings, workshops, and
digital and social media. “As Poet Laureate,” Ms. Wagner says, “I’d
like to find ways to reach out to people who don’t usually read poetry
or even think they like it.” [Missouri Arts Council Web site]. Tell
us about being Missouri’s Poet Laureate. What has been different during
this period of your life? What has been the response from the public?
How as Covid impacted your time as Poet Laureate? 4. “Specific poetic forms have been developed by many cultures, in more developed, closed or ‘received’ poetic form, the rhyming scheme, meter and other elements of a poem are based on set of rules. Common forms widely used across languages: Sonnet, Shi, Villanelle, Limerick, Tanka, Haiku, Khlong, Ode, Ghazal . . . . Poetry is often thought of in terms of different genres: Narrative, Lyric, Epic, Satirical, Elegy, Verse, Dramatic, Speculative, Prose, Light, Slam.[Wikipedia]. Poetry has played major roles in human history. Religions have used poetry in liturgy and ritual. Revolutions have been empowered, wars have been fought, unions have been made and destroyed, life and death has been honored, humor has been embodied; all this through poetry. What is it about poetry that has made it so central to the human story? 5. “Like most poets, I’ve wanted to touch the human spirit and move the reader. That’s what I want to happen to me as well when I read a poem. Not every poem is easily accessible, and not every poem will have the same impact on a person, but poems abound out there for all of us. I want to help find those poems for people.” [IN KC.] How do you “find those poems for people”? Are there types of poems that appeal to different types of people? Is there a way to discover poetry that will help me “touch the human spirit and move” me? 6. In your recent book, The Immigrants’ New Camera: A Family Collection, you introduce and reflect on a unique culture, a specific family, and several interesting places. I found myself not only learning more about you but also remembering more about myself. One example is “My Mother’s White Lies.” Talk about how living a specific life unites or divides you and others from the realities of others. Can poetry be a force in reuniting a divided community? 7. Poetry, like other art, is more about what is heard and seen than what is written or pictured. That is my opinion, anyway. The “art form method” of discussion helps us to listen to more than words. While we listen, would you read out loud your poem “Raising a Hand” (page 55)? After the reading, I will ask others “What words did you hear? What did you feel? What experiences were you reminded of from your own life? 8.
Amanda Gorman in her poem “The Hill We Climb” at Joe Biden’s
inauguration brought tears of hope to many in this nation and the
world. The nation paused for a moment and for many we felt like a
united and special people. Where else have you witnessed poetry serve
to heal, motivate, empower, challenge, or inspire? NOTE: David says, We
are hoping that beginning in May we will meet both at the library and
by Zoom. I have been thrilled to have participants from outside the
greater Kansas City area who attend and do not want to lose them. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - May 11 Wednesday 1-2:30 p.m. on Zoom & In-Person -- (Notes from last month) Zoom: Meeting ID: 832 3534 6541 Passcode: 076621 Banning Books in libraries and schools. ![]() This will be a hybrid event -- since the pandemic, the first time back at the MidContinent Library, Antioch Branch, in person and also on Zoom. The following books will be available at the library (ask for Vital Conversations or David Nelson): To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Lord of the Flies by Willian Golding, Animal Farm by George Orwell, 1984 by George Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. The following books have been selected and will be discussed: Maus: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History & Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman Brave New World by Aldous Huxley All Boys Are Not Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson Animal Farm by George Orwell Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo Book banning is the most widespread form of censorship in the United States, with children’s literature being the primary target. Advocates for banning books fear that children will be swayed by its contents, which they regard as potentially dangerous. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove them from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. According to a new American Library Association report, there were 330 “book challenges” in the fall of 2021, an uptick from the same periods in recent years. “Parents, activists, school board officials and lawmakers around the country are challenging books at a pace not seen in decades.” New York Times Questions: * What is this book about? Give a brief synopsis. Why do some want it banned? Articulate the argument. What is your opinion? * What is the role of librarians? Parents? Library Boards? School Districts? Newspapers? Television? * How do you choose which books to read and share with others? Where do individual rights end and group rights take over? * What are our responsibilities as parents and citizens? What can we do influence others? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - June 8 Wednesday 1-2:30pm Zoom: Meeting ID: 832 3534 6541 Passcode: 076621 Ukraine, and Russia. With several Ukrainians and Russians present we will have a conversation about their histories, the current war and why this is important to us. To prepare for this conversation you can read, watch the news, visit with your friends, and engage with others. Below are listed three books. One is a non-fiction by a journalist. One is a novel. One is a complete history. Black Square: Adventures in Post-Soviet Ukraine by Sophie Pinkham. ![]() Sophie Pinkham saw all this and more in the course of ten years working, traveling, and reporting the Maidan revolution of 2013-14, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and the current war against Russian invasion. Sophie has current articles in The New York Times. Brisbane: A Novel by Eugene Vodolazkin. In this richly layered novel by the winner of Russia’s biggest literary prizes, a celebrated guitarist robbed of his talent by Parkinson’s disease seeks other paths to immortality. Expanding the literary universe spun in his earlies novels, Vodolazkin explores music and fame, belonging and purpose, time and eternity. At the stunning finale of Brisbane, all the carefully knit stitches unravel into a riddle: Whose story is it – the subject’s or the writer’s? Are art and love really no match for death? Is Brisbane, the city of our dreams, our only hope for the future? The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine revised edition by Serhii Plokhy. A Ukraine is embroiled in an ongoing struggle with Russia to preserve its territorial integrity and political independence, this celebrated historian explains that today’s crisis is a case of history repeating itself: the Ukrainian conflict is only the latest in a log history of turmoil over Ukraine’s sovereignty. This revised edition includes ne material that brings this definitive history up to the present, from the election of Volodymyr Zelensky to the tole of Ukraine in Trump’s impeachment. As Ukraine once again find itself at the center of global attention, Plokhy brings its history to vivid life as he connects the nation’s past with its present and future. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - July 13 Wednesday 1-2:30 p.m. Zoom: Meeting ID: 832 3534 6541 Passcode: 076621 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
#vcAug
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - September 14 Wednesday 1-2:30 p.m. on Zoom -- (Notes from last month) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #vcOct #NextEvent
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - December 14 Wednesday 1-2:30 p.m. on Zoom -- (Notes from last month) . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Selections are subject to change. For Zoom
link and additional information,
|