Process & Faith

Process & Faith Members Meeting
2022-08-23 16:30 - 17:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
On Tuesday, August 23rd 2022, Process & Faith members are invited to come together for a meeting to share updates on P&F and give input on the direction of our process-relational community. The meeting will take place at 4:30pm PDT and last approximately one hour. All P&F members will be sent the Zoom meeting information via email, so no registration is necessary. Click below to add this event to your calendar.

Process Pop-up: Process and Religious Pluralism
2022-08-18 09:30 - 10:30
Facilitated by Bruce Epperly & Sheri D. Kling

Join a dynamic discussion on process and religious pluralism, using Bruce Epperly’s recently published book The Elephant is Running: Process and Open and Relational Theologies and Religious Pluralism as a springboard for conversation.

How should Christians respond to the dynamic changes in the North American and global religious landscape? What resources do process and openness theologies provide for interspiritual seekers and religious adventurers? Process theologian and pastor Bruce Epperly reflects on his latest book.

Resources:

The Elephant is Running: Process and Open and Relational Theologies and Religious Pluralism, SacraSage Press, May 2022

Process Pop-up: The Deeper Roots of Mass Shootings
2022-07-21 16:30 - 17:30
Facilitated by Sheri D. Kling, PhD

Join a dynamic discussion on the deeper roots of mass shootings, inspired by process scholar Sheri Kling’s recent piece on the Cobb Institute blog Process in Praxis titled “Are Fragmentation, Trauma, and Demoralization at the Root of Mass Shootings?”

“Rather than just arguing about whether the problem stems from the individuals or the guns, I’d like to suggest that the roots may lie even deeper. And until we are willing to follow the threads all the way down, we will never find a way out of the crisis of mass shootings. I strongly believe that the roots of this problem are cultural fragmentation, an epidemic of trauma, and widespread demoralization. In other words, we are living in a sick society that is producing mass shootings out of its sickness.”

Resources:

Sheri’s Blog at the Cobb Institute: “Are Fragmentation, Trauma, and Demoralization at the Root of Mass Shootings?”

ORTCON 22: An In Person Open and Relational Theology Conference
2022-07-04 17:00 - 2022-07-08 17:00 | Grand Targhee Resort, 3300 Ski Hill Rd, Alta, WY, 83414, United States
Held at the beautiful Grand Targhee Resort in the Grand Teton mountains of Wyoming, ORTCON22 is an in person conference exploring topics in Open and Relational Theology.

ORTCON22 brings together scholars, leaders, pastors, and activists. The conference provides workshops, lectures, and social activities to deepen relationships and present new ways of imagining God and the universe.

Keynote speakers include: Thomas Jay Oord, Eric Seibert and Donna Bowman.

Beauty in a Time of Lament with Jay McDaniel and Patricia Adams Farmer (Process & Faith Twin Cities)
2022-06-11 08:00 - 10:00, 2022-05-23 14:36
We live in difficult and trying times . . .

Process theology offers us the idea that, even in the worst of times, there dwells within the human heart and within nature a lure toward beauty: soul beauty, natural beauty, moral beauty, artistic beauty, and tragic beauty. In each instance what makes beauty “beautiful” is not that it is necessarily happy, although sometimes it is; but rather that it is inherently attractive, meaning giving, and, in a certain way, refreshing. Beauty gives the soul peace, hope, and the energy to carry on.

McDaniel and Farmer will share their views and invite yours on the many forms of beauty, including musical beauty and the beauty of landscapes and waterways, animals and plants, as they offer opportunities for touching God and moving forward, no matter how trying the times.

Discussion Leaders

Jay McDaniel is Executive Director of the Cobb Institute for Community and Practice and author of several books, including What is Process Thought? Seven Answers to Seven Questions. His website, openhorizons.org, features many articles and images at the intersection of process and beauty.

Patricia Adams Farmer is a process theologian, minister, and writer with a special focus on beauty. She is the author of Embracing a Beautiful God, Fat Soul: A Philosophy of S-I-Z-E, Replanting Ourselves in Beauty, Beauty and Process Theology, and two theological novels.

Suggested reading

https://www.openhorizons.org/my-religion-is-beauty-patricia-adams-farmer.html

Process and Faith Twin Cities is an ecumenical organization of theologians, ministers, and others who are interested in the theological and practical implications of process-relational theology. Our events are free and open to the public.

Interfaith Explorations Summer 2022: Spirit and the Movies II
2022-06-08 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-06-01 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-05-25 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-05-18 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-05-11 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-05-04 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-04-27 10:00 - 11:00
After the overwhelming success of our Spring 2022 session of ‘Spirit and the Movies’, we have decided to continue our exploration of film and spirituality. After we see a film (a movie, a documentary, a super bowl advertisement) we are inwardly moved. We wonder to ourselves: How did it inspire me? Challenge me? Move me? What did I learn from it? What questions does it raise for me? It is especially meaningful if we can discuss this with others – we grow through this discussion. In this eight-week session, we will make use of films and their reviews as springboards for our own soulful reflections.

Register at the Interfaith Center

Test
2022-05-23 14:42

Process Pop-up: Islamic Approaches to Interfaith Cooperation
2022-05-19 17:00 - 18:00
Facilitated by Jared Morningstar

Join a dynamic discussion on Islamic approaches to interfaith cooperation to learn what the Qur’an say about other religions and how Muslims are thinking about religious pluralism today.

This pop-up will be hosted on Zoom by Jared Morningstar. The session will last approximately one hour. Resources pertaining to the topic are linked below as springboards for discussion. Feel free to explore these resources to whatever extent interests you prior to the pop-up.

Resources:

People of the BookThe “Constitution” of Medina: Translation, Commentary, and Meaning TodayAll Peoples Had Prophets: Thoughts on Confucius, Buddha, Cyrus, Muhammad in the BibleInterview with Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr (See pages 6–11)The Qur’anic Message of Universalism and Religious Pluralism

Process Pop-up: Process Theology and the Enneagram
2022-05-04 17:00 - 18:00
Facilitated by Ken Pearson & Jay McDaniel

The enneagram teaches you who you are not—Enneagram master teacher, Suzanne Stabile

Process theology invites us to imagine God as “in process” with us, adapting to our unique situation and context by availing us of fresh possibilities for a journey into wholeness, relative to our personality and propensities. We can become more available to God’s living presence by understanding our gifts and limitations and appreciating the gifts of others who are different from us. God works in them in their ways, just as God works in us in our ways. With its powerful typology, the Enneagram contributes significantly to this self-understanding and appreciation. It also helps us recognize that, so often our gifts our also our sins, thus avoiding the liabilities of self-deception. Our hour together will provide an opportunity to consider the Enneagram types, to see their relevance to process theology, and to consider how, together, the Enneagram and process theology might help us grow in our potential to help heal a broken world. The wholeness we seek is not personal alone, but social and ecological too.

Resources

BooksThe Road Back to You The Path Between Us: An Enneagram Journey to Healthy RelationshipsThe Journey Toward WholenessWhat’s My Type?The Complete EnneagramEnneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others in You LifeThe Spiritual Dimension of the EnneagramThe Enneagram: A Christian PerspectiveEnneagram SpiritualityEnneagram Daily ReflectionsThe Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth forthe Nine Personality TypesMirror for the Soul: A Christian Guide to the EnneagramThe Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth & Workbook

PodcastsEnneagram 2.0 — Beatrice Chestnut & Uranio PaesThe Road Back to You — Ian Cron & Suzanne StabileThe Enneagram Journey — Suzanne StabileTypology — Ian Cron

Other ResourcesLife In the Trinity Ministry: www.lifeinthetrinityministry.comEvents, Bookstore, DVD’s, MP3’s, Podcasts, Enneagram Journey workbooks“The Table” – online subscription service / $15/ monthFacebook Page – Life in the Trinity MinistryPeter White – The Sabbath Life www.thesabbathlife.comMenu: Blogs / EnneagramSpiritual Direction: Rev. Mary Jane Cole501-960-7731

Process Pop-up: The Kyoto School: a Buddhist Contribution to Ecological Civilization
2022-04-27 17:00 - 18:00
Facilitated by Jared Morningstar

Join a sophisticated discussion of the Kyoto School of philosophy and how these cosmopolitan Buddhist thinkers offer resources for building ecological civilization.

From The Kyoto School: True Emptiness, Wondrous Being website:

“The Kyoto School was founded by Nishida Kitaro at the beginning of the 20th century, and now covers three generations of philosophers who have endeavoured to express the insights of the East in the philosophical language of the West. As they did so, however, they have in fact created a new kind of philosophy, a radically new way of thinking from the standpoint of emptiness – and empathy – which goes beyond the limited scope of traditional Western philosophy, which is the standpoint of being – and that of the self-centred calculative mind, cut off from a true experience of reality. Their insights will be of interest to those interested in current research about the nature of consciousness and cognition, as well as those concerned by the inadequacy of the prevalent Western mode of thinking in tackling social, political, economic and environmental issues.”

The Kyoto School and its representatives offer a unique dialogue with traditions of Process thought, as both maintain a skepticism of the dominant substance ontology of much of mainline Western thinking. In his forward to Nishitani’s masterpiece, Religion and Nothingness, scholar Winston L. King writes that

“One other possibility remains [for dialogue between the Kyoto School and Western thought] in the field of American philosophy, and one that has been slightly explored already. To this writer it seems to have the greatest potential for sustaining a full philosophical-religious contact between Buddhist East and Christian West of any thought pattern in America. This is the so-called process philosophy which had its roots in the thought of A. N. Whitehead, especially in his seminal Process and Reality” (Winston L. King, “Foreward” in Religion and Nothingness by Keiji Nishitani, Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983, xxi).

This pop-up will examine the specific resources provided by these philosophers of emptiness for collaborating in the project of ecological civilization.

This pop-up will be hosted on Zoom by Jared Morningstar. The session will last approximately one hour. Resources pertaining to the topic are linked below as springboards for discussion. Feel free to explore these resources to whatever extent interests you prior to the pop-up.

Resources:

Science and Technology: Nature Denaturalised and Humans DehumanisedWatsuji’s Idea of the Self and the Problem of Spatial Distance in Environmental EthicsReligion and Science in Nishitani KeijiThe Kyoto School Philosophy on Place: Nishida and Ueda

Readings on Faiths
2022-04-14 08:30 - 09:30
A Book Group Exploring the Diversity of Religion

Readings on Faiths Around the World is a book group that reads and discusses books covering the vast diversity of world faiths. Of course, the standard seven world religions will be included but we will also explore less well-known religious/spiritual groups including Afro-Caribbean, Bahá’í, Humanist, Jain, Pagan, Zoroastrian, and more. The only prerequisite needed for this group is a desire to learn more about the world’s religious traditions.

We will begin with Stephen Prothero’s God is not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World, one of the best books on world religions.

From the title it is clear Prothero does not believe religions are the same. He argues we distort religions by claiming how similar they are rather than looking at the differences that make each unique.

Prothero points to what he calls “pretend pluralism.” Pluralism became popular following World War II with religious writers/scholars like Huston Smith. Smith presented the idea in his book The Religions of Man published in 1958. The Religions of Man claims the essential unity of religions by focusing on spiritual experience rather than doctrine or dogma. This led to the claim that the world’s religions were simply different paths leading to the same goal. Prothero, however, argues that religion is too important to pawn off as having no significant differences. Religions should be understood as they are, not just at their best but also at their worst.

Prothero closes his introduction with the following:

“One of the most common misconceptions about the world’s religions is that they plumb the same depths, ask the same questions. They do not. . . . Every religion, however, asks after the human condition. Here we are in these human bodies. What now? What next? What are we to become?” (24)

To join, click GOING, and enter your name and email.

Process Pop-up: Buddhist Disenchantment & Process Reenchantment
2022-04-08 17:00 - 18:00
Facilitated by Doug Holmes

Buddhists have long taught that the spiritual life eventually requires one to become disenchanted with the world. Process thinkers have suggested that to overcome our civilizational ills we need to reenchant the world that modernity has disenchanted. Do we have to choose, or can we have both? We’ll examine some quotes about reenchantment and disenchantment from the process philosopher David Ray Griffin and the Theravadin Buddhist teacher Ajahn Chah. Process thought and Buddhism have a long and fruitful history, but will this drive a wedge between them? Join us for an enchanted hour as we divine into these questions.

Please read through these excerpts prior to the session: https://chemicalx.solutions/enchantment/

Hidden Gems Learning Circle: Session 6
2022-03-21 11:00 - 12:00
This learning circle, geared towards participants with some familiarity with process thought but lacking substantial knowledge of the Islamic tradition, will attempt to present the religion of Islam in connection with the core values or “four hopes” of Process & Faith: Whole Persons, Whole Communities, Whole Planet, and Holistic Thinking. Over the course of six sessions, aspects of Islamic spirituality, ritual practice, legal theory, philosophy, and sacred texts will be explored in light of these values, showing how the resources of the Islamic tradition have the potential to build towards these same aims. The course will begin with a general introduction to Islam and conclude with a case study of Muhammad Iqbal, a South Asian Muslim philosopher and poet who is the clearest example of Islamic process-relational thinking in recent times.

A variety of resources will be provided for each session which participants are encouraged to explore at their leisure prior to the discussion. Sessions will begin with a brief presentation on the major topics to be covered, followed by space for questions and open-ended dialogue which to further connect these Islamic intellectual and spiritual resources with process thinking.

To RSVP, click the “Going” button, enter your name and email, and the meeting information will be emailed to you.

Process Pop-up: The Role of Spiritual Independents in the Interfaith Community
2022-03-17 17:00 - 18:00 | Live Zoom Sessions
Join an engaging discussion on being spiritually independent, and how these spiritual voyagers outside the halls of institutional religion can be important partners in interfaith dialogue.

This pop-up discussion will be hosted on Zoom by Jared Morningstar. The session will last approximately one hour. Resources pertaining to the topic are linked below as springboards for discussion. Feel free to explore these resources to whatever extent interests you prior to the pop-up.

Resources:

Welcoming the Spiritually IndependentThe Rise of Atheist Churches?Holy Rascals: Advice for Spiritual Revolutionaries

Hidden Gems Learning Circle: Session 5
2022-03-14 11:00 - 12:00

Spirit and the Movies March 9th
2022-03-09 10:00 - 11:00
After we see a film (a movie, a documentary, a super bowl advertisement) we are inwardly moved. We wonder to ourselves: How did it inspire me? Challenge me? Move me? What did I learn from it? What questions does it raise for me? It is especially meaningful if we can discuss this with others – we grow through this discussion. In this eight-week session, we will make use of films and their reviews as springboards for our own soulful reflections.

Sponsored by The Interfaith Center, Process and Faith, and Spirituality & Practice

Sign up on Zoom

Process Pop-up: Daoist Meditation as Practice and Philosophy
2022-03-04 07:30 - 08:30
Facilitated by Zhenbao Jin

Meditation is not simply a practice, but a philosophy-based practice, or a practice-based philosophy. With philosophy I mean our fundamental understanding of life and the cosmos, and especially, our understanding of life and death.

Each of us begins the practice of meditation with a certain philosophy. The point is, what is our purpose to do the practice of meditation? Are we trying to prove that philosophy is true?

It depends on the philosophy itself. A philosophy that holds death is an inevitable and natural result of life will have effect upon the practice of meditation very different from a philosophy that holds death is not the end and life, including body and soul, has a potential of perpetual development.

Taoism belongs to the latter category. I would like to introduce my practice and research on these issues and expect a lively discussion with other members of the community.

I will talk about Daoist philosophy for about 20 minutes and then we will have a discussion. In the last 20 minutes I will introduce the practice of Daoist meditation and lead a 10-minute session. After that, we will discuss about the experience.

For more information on Daoist meditation, the following links would be helpful:

MEDITATIONTAOISTWritten Evidence, submitted to the UK parliament on the significance of meditation to help elder people lead healthy, independent and fulfilled lives

Spirit and the Movies March 2nd
2022-03-02 10:00 - 11:00

Hidden Gems Learning Circle: Session 4
2022-02-28 10:00 - 11:00

Spirit and the Movies February 23rd
2022-02-23 10:00 - 11:00

Interfaith Screening: “Mission: Joy” | University of La Verne
2022-02-22 18:30 - 21:00
Join our partner in process, the University of La Verne, for a film screening and interfaith panel discussion of Mission: Joy – Finding Happiness in Troubled Times on Tuesday, February 22 at 6:30pm.

The event is offered in-person at the Ludwick Center Sacred Space and virtually. For virtual information, please register below. We will watch the film together (1.5 hours) followed by a 45-minute discussion led by a panel of interfaith leaders from our community. To join virtually, please register here.

Mission: Joy is a profound and jubilant exploration of the remarkable friendship between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, two individuals who have endured great hardships and who have carried the burden as world leaders dedicated to bringing justice to and fighting authoritarianism in their communities. Their greatest defiance of all, however, appears to be their ability to maintain a mischievous and playful spirit in the face of their circumstances.

Covid Protocols: All person’s attending in-person must complete a Daily Health Check before entering the University. On the day of the event, please go to this this link to complete the Daily health Check. After completing the form, you will receive an email with your health check results. You will be required to show the results (showing a green check-mark) upon entering. You can either print out your results and bring a paper copy or show your email confirmation on your phone.

The event is sponsored by a coalition of interfaith groups in the La Verne community: The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life at the University of La Verne, Claremont Interfaith Council, Upland Interfaith Council, and the Inland Valley Interfaith Working Group for Middle East Peace.

We hope you will join us in person or virtually!

Register on Zoom

Hidden Gems Learning Circle: Session 3
2022-02-21 10:00 - 11:00

ORTLine 22: International, Online Open and Relational Theology Conference
2022-02-19 06:00 - 16:00 | Live Zoom Sessions
This one-day online zoom conference features authors recently published in the field of open and relational theology. Authors confirmed to date include Sharon Baker Putt, John B. Cobb, Jr., Andrew Davis, Bruce Epperly, Catherine Keller, Matthew Korpman, Rory Randall, John Sanders, Matthew Segal, and Andrew Williams. Titles to be presented and discussed include: Boundless Love, An Open Theist Renewal Theology, Walking with Francis of Assisi, Saying No to God, Salvation: Jesus’ Mission and Ours, Facing Apocalypse, Physics of the World-Soul, A Nonviolent Theology of Love, Mind, Value and Cosmos, Embracing Prodigals.
We realize conference attendees may not be able to participate every hour of the conference. So audio and video will be available to conference registrants for 90 days after the conference.
Hosted by Thomas Jay Oord, Jonathan Foster, and Brian Felushko.
