Progressive United Church of Christ (UCC) Feed by IPC

Just a test using my new IPhone.

My friend and co-founder of the Progressive Christian Alliance; Rev. Jarrod Cochran's first book " Finding Jesus Outside the Box:
A Progressive Christian Manifesto On the Journey from Religion to Authentic Faith" was released today by Doulos Christou Books. The book is free for download at www.douloschristou.com/outside. As this is Jarrod's first book, I am sure he would welcome feedback.
An excerpt an also be found here: www.theooze.com/articles

Hi folks. Here are some of the paintings and drawings for my show. The first is a pen and ink drawing called "First Boat Ride". The second is a pen and ink and watercolor drawing called "Greed". The third is an acrylic painting that I just finished called "Some People Are Missing". Hope you enjoy.

Before Ralph Reed became the #2 man to lobbyist Jack Abramoff he was the #2 man to Pat Robertson, founder of the conservative Christian Coalition.  As I wrote in 2006,

Robertson and Reed created an image of Jesus that was pro-war and unconcerned with the poor and marginalized. Their work has been so influential that many Americans – and certainly many in the media – have come to believe that to be a real Christian you must be a conservative Republican.

Thankfully, that image is changing this year.

But why is John McCain still hanging out with Ralph Reed?  Reed was very involved in the lobbying scandal that sent Abramoff off to jail.  Why is John McCain using Ralph Reed to raise money?  Shouldn't a presidential candidate have higher ethical standards? 

We've only got 12 days left to raise the money needed by the United Church of Christ to air our new commercial this fall.  Can you make a donation and get this progressive message of faith and hope on the air?  Click here.

Please join IRATE (the Interfaith Refugee Action Team - Elizabeth) and Pax Christi NJ at 1:30 pm on Sunday, October 12th as we march with the flags of the nation to honor our immigrant heritage and protest the treatment of immigrants held at the Elizabeth Detention Center. We will assemble on Progress Street, just off Dowd Avenue in Elizabeth and march two blocks to the Detention Center where we will hold a vigil to remember those who are being held inside and at similar facilities across the country.
Immigrants in detention include families, both undocumented and documented immigrants, many who have been in the US for years and are now facing exile. They include survivors of torture, asylum seekers and other vulnerable groups including pregnant women, and children. Individuals who are seriously ill are held without proper medication or care. Immigrants detained during this process are in non-criminal custody because being in violation of immigration laws is not a crime. It is a civil violation similar to a traffic ticket.

IRATE is an alliance of grassroots organizations whose members believe that the current U.S. policy of detaining immigrants in prison-like conditions is contrary to our tradition of welcoming refugees. Currently in New Jersey, the Bureau of Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) has some 300 people detained at the Elizabeth Detention Center and an unknown number of people in county jails throughout the state.

For more information on Pax Christi or the the vigil contact Kathy O’Leary 908-273-0751 kathy-wargo@comcast.net

For more information on immigration detention go to www.irateweb.org, www.detentionwatchnetwork.org or www.cliniclegal.org

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Rumor has it - and there are a lot of rumors flying around today about the presidential election - that John McCain is still seriously considering Joe Lieberman as his running mate.

Please, please, please do it.

Politico reports:

...GOP sources say McCain and his close friend Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) still haven’t given up hope on making what some believe would be a game-changing decision by tapping Lieberman.

What do John McCain and Joe Lieberman have in common?  What brings them together and what drove the pro-choice Lieberman out of the Democratic Party?  Their mutual support for George W. Bush's war in Iraq and their general neo-con foreign policy leanings. (In this photo we see W and Lieberman hugging uncontrollably). 

Picking Lieberman would make the election about Iraq and the failed foreign police goals supported by Bush, McCain and their old friend Joe. 

That's a debate that Barack Obama can win.  Americans know that Bush and McCain have led America astray.  Those failures will define a McCain-Lieberman ticket.  And Barack Obama has a plan for ending the war and for making the world a safer place.

I'll note here that every single Christian denomination - with the exception of the Southern Baptists - went on record opposing the invasion of Iraq and have been critical of how that war has been waged ever since.

The evangelical wing of the Republican Party would just implode.  If you thought the eruption of Mt. St. Helens was something to behold just watch the headquarters of Focus on the Family when news of a McCain-Lieberman ticket hits.  Yes, McCain is to the right of President Bush on many foreign policy issues but he loves Planned Parenthood and once marched with MLK.  He's changed since those days and now hangs out with a Republican crowd and has left the progressive days of his youth far behind.  But the Right will never forgive McCain for bringing a Planned Parenthood-loving abortion supporter on the ticket. 

And the rest of America?  Lieberman is seen as a turncoat politican who will abandon his principles and friends just to get a little closer to the center of power.  His approval ratings in his home state of Connecticut are below 50% - at their lowest margin in 14 years of polling. 

Rich, Steve and I had a wonderful conversation on the theology panel conference call this evening, although I fear I again monopolized the conversation - sorry guys.
One of the questions that arose was during one of the brief interludes when I wasn't talking was "What makes us progressive?". In truth, there are likely as many "progressive" concerns aired here on CrossLeft as there are progressives to comment on them. It is that very fact which I believe to be one of our greatest strengths here on CrossLeft, as well as in the progressive movement as a whole. We as humans are a wonderful and diverse group. We should celebrate, rejoice and find strength in that diversity. The same exists for the microcosm of our society which is progressive Christianity. In fact, it is my opinion that that willingness to explore and celebrate our diversity is one of the hallmarks of the progressive movement. Here on Crossleft we have Catholics, Episcopalians, Unitarians, Baptists, and etc. Our members are Yankees, Rebels, Easterners and Westerners; White, Latino, Native American and African-American. Some of us are exceptionally passionate about the environment, some poverty, some equality.

In spite of all of that, we are united in the belief that our common faith is one that compells us to act or speak out to improve the world around us.

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The uproar over Sen. Obama’s plan to keep President Bush’s White House Office of Community and Faith Based Initiatives from the left of the Democratic Party shows the growing split in the nation’s largest political party. This is a split between the vocal and to their credit active liberal wing that icons like Howard Dean, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Russ Feingold, and more. It is clear that they are at odds with their inter-party rivals who are quickly gaining attention as progressives with leaders like Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and more.

This week while progressives, who use to call themselves moderates, praised the new position of the Junior Senator from Illinois to make outreach and involvement with communities of faith a cornerstone of his campaign and if elected administration, liberals led by the Executive Director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State took it to the trash. However Obama’s plan and the reaction by the very group that propelled him to the forefront of the parties nomination for President who why so many people refuse to own the liberal label. They are wrong!

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One week from today I'll be in Denver for the Democratic National Convention.  This will be my first convention and by all accounts it promises to be an exciting one.  It was over a year ago that I first endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president and I look forward to watching him accept the nomination.  I've been invited to spend time with those responsible for the senator's outreach to faith communities (there will be "faith caucus" meetings on Tuesday and Thursday) and the Oregon delegation has been kind enough (thank you super-delegate Jenny Greenleaf) to invite me to several Oregon-related events.  Check back here at www.chuckcurrie.com starting next Monday for regular reports.  As always, the views you read on this site are my own and do no reflect (particularly on partisan political matters) the views of my denomination or local church.

To learn more about the role of religion in politics please feel free to download my Nov. 4, 2007 sermon - The Politics of Jesus - which dealt with the role of the church in political affairs. Use the below link to download the podcast of my sermon for your iPod or personal computer.

Download ThePoliticsOfJesus.m4a

(click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file.

Related Link:  Majority Of Christians Support Obama 

:-) Just wanted to let y'all know that the first draft is forthcoming. :-)

The people of Parkrose Community United Church of Christ and Zion United Church of Christ held a joint worship service this morning at Portland's Blue Lake Park.  This followed Saturday's Peace Bubble Cafe Fair & Concert held on Saturday at Parkrose High School.  The Rev. Jerry Leggett, creator of the Peace Bubble Cafe, preached this morning on Luke 6:27-31.  Above Jerry leads songs during this morning's worship service.  Below is a photo from Saturday's concert.  More photos and video to come soon!

The people of Parkrose Community United Church of Christ and Zion United Church of Christ held a joint worship service this morning at Portland's Blue Lake Park. This followed Saturday's Peace Bubble Cafe Fair & Concert held on Saturday at... The Rev. Chuck Currie

The people of Parkrose Community United Church of Christ and Zion United Church of Christ held a joint worship service this morning at Portland's Blue Lake Park. This followed Saturday's Peace Bubble Cafe Fair & Concert held on Saturday at... The Rev. Chuck Currie

Dear MoveOn member,
Can you imagine living in a place where birth control is considered an "abortion" and health insurers won't cover it? Where even rape victims are denied emergency contraception?

It seems unbelievable, but the Bush Administration is quietly trying to redefine "abortion" to include birth control. The Houston Chronicle says this could wipe out dozens of state laws that protect women's reproductive freedom and protect rape victims.1 Access to basic health care for millions of women would be jeopardized. And it's being pushed as a "rule change"—meaning, it doesn't need congressional approval.

Can you sign an emergency message to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, whose department is considering this rule change right now? Tell him: "Contraception is NOT abortion. The Bush Administration's proposal to change the definition of abortion and reduce women's access to birth control must be stopped."

Clicking here will add your name to this message:
http://pol.moveon.org/contraception/o.pl?id=13468-2247272-T1PJfvx&t=4

The best way to beat back this proposal is to show Secretary Leavitt massive public outrage—that's why today we're launching this petition jointly with Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Together, we'll deliver every signature to Leavitt. You can help add to our momentum by forwarding this message to friends.

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EPPN Policy Alert

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Recently, I came across an extraordinary statement in a comment on this blog: "I don't think that Jesus was that concerned about life on the physical plane." This statement, which took my breath away, epitomizes a certain implicit and unBiblical attitude among Christians that I think is so widespread as to be rarely questioned or even made conscious.

While no one would dispute that Jesus cared primarily about our spiritual well-being, this concern cannot occur without caring about the facts of life on earth. To say that Jesus cares about our spirit, but is not that concerned about events on the physical plane is precisely the kind of specious dichotomy that is at the center of so much carelessness about issues of peace and justice among many Christians. Out of such dichotomies, wars are concocted, economies are ravaged, and the ecology of the earth laid waste.

God cares. He cares about us as spiritual beings. He cares about us as physical beings. In the Catholic tradition, the spiritual and physical parts of humanity are parts of a single totality which we call the "human being". This synthesis between the spiritual and earthly parts of man was made by St. Thomas Aquinas in the 12th century and I'd like to briefly recap it for those who may not be familiar with it.

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Did you hear about the Bertha, Minn. church that kicked out a 13-year old boy with autism? If not, here's the background. When a reporter from The Oregonian called to ask for my reaction my first response was to say:

When Jesus said that how we treat the 'least of these' in society was akin to how we treat God he was talking about 13-year old Adam Race, the autistic boy kicked out of a Minneapolis church because of disruptive behavior.

But I also know the issues are complicated. The story that The Oregonian ran the next day focused in part on the life of a young man and his family - a family that I know - that have also faced the difficulties of autism in church:

Anne Kayser, 45, is the mother of Tom Kayser, 17, who is autistic and has attended First United Methodist Church in downtown Portland his whole life. There have been, she says, some difficult moments. When he was noisy and people who didn't know him turned around in the pew to complain. When he was younger and sometimes aggressive, he would lash out at other children in Sunday school. His parents volunteered to teach his class so they could monitor his behavior.

And the time someone suggested Tom be trained as an acolyte, his mom had doubts. "You want to put a lighted stick in this child's hand and have him walk between hundreds of people?" But he did, with only one close call.

"Now Tom sits with us through the worship service. We've worked on that for years," she says. "He loves classical music, that is his passion. First Methodist is known for sacred choral and organ music, and Tom responds to that."

But, she says, she would not have kept taking Tom to church unless she believed it was valuable to him on another level. "Tom can't understand the theology he hears from the pulpit, but I know he understands that he belongs. He feels at home, safe in a church where he knows most of the people. There is a need for that -- in his life and for most people."

The Rev. Chuck Currie, interim minister at Parkrose Community United Church of Christ in Northeast Portland, says churches deal with disruptions all the time: "crying children, homeless people walking in off the street, people suffering from mental illness speaking out during sermons."

Sometimes, other worshippers' first reaction is "kick them out," he says, but that can't be the ultimate response. "Our call as a church is to minister not just to the well-behaved and the well-dressed. The church needs to be open and affirming of everyone, or it ceases to become a place where you can honestly proclaim the Kingdom of God."

Click here to learn more on these issues from the UCC Disabilities Ministries.

Did you hear about the Bertha, Minn. church that kicked out a 13-year old boy with autism? If not, here's the background. When a reporter from The Oregonian called to ask for my reaction my first response was to say:... The Rev. Chuck Currie

Did you hear about the Bertha, Minn. church that kicked out a 13-year old boy with autism? If not, here's the background. When a reporter from The Oregonian called to ask for my reaction my first response was to say:... The Rev. Chuck Currie