Process & Faith

Process Pop-Up: Reviving Christian Process Theology
2023-08-14 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
“Revival is creative transformation that heals body, mind, and spirit, energizes us, and sends us out into the world as mystics in action, loving God in the world of the flesh and healing the world God loves.”

Does Christian process theology need revival and renewal? How can process theology be a transformational resource for mainline Christians, spiritual seekers, and evangelicals in search of a truly loving and life-affirming theology? Bruce Epperly sees ‘revival’ as the emergence of a deep and passionate spirituality that changes us and the world, grounded in reclaiming Jesus as a companion, challenger, and guide.

In this Pop-Up, Dr. Epperly will discuss why Christian process theology needs to open to creative transformation so that it can transform the spiritual landscape of our times. Believing there is good news of Jesus beyond the academy, Epperly will show how Christian process theology must join its theological vision with spiritual practices of healing and wholeness, integration of contemplation and action, and a rediscovery of an affirmative vision of Jesus.

RSVP required to receive ZOOM info.

About the Facilitator

Bruce Epperly is a professor, pastor, and author of over seventy books in the area of process theology, spirituality and mysticism, healing and wholeness, scripture, and ministerial spirituality and wholeness. His recent book Process Theology and the Revival We Need can be purchased from Amazon or Bookshop.org.

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Process Pop-Up: The Secular as Sacred: Taoism and Confucianism from the Perspective of Process Philosophy
2023-07-20 17:00 - 18:00
The cultural tradition of China is notorious for its secularism. There is no belief in God, no special emphasis upon spirituality, no expectation of eternal salvation. All the teachings of Taoism and Confucianism seem to be nothing more than ethical admonition focusing on secular benefits. Nevertheless, China’s civilization has persisted for more than 3000 years and seems even more compelling in our time.

In this event, Dr. Zhenbao Jin wishes to decode the secrets of Taoism and Confucianism from the perspective of his special experience of healing himself from lymphoma cancer and other chronic health problems, as well as his related research in the past 10 years. He will discuss the cosmology of Taoism and Confucianism from the perspective of process philosophy and meditation as the way to embody such a cosmology. He will show how Taoism and Confucianism are more a developing scholarship than a close system of belief, due to their non-dualistic cosmology.

RSVP required to receive ZOOM info.

About the Facilitator

Dr. Zhenbao Jin earned his Ph.D. in philosophy of law at China University of Political Science and Law in 2011 and had been a lawyer and a law lecturer at Nanjing Normal University. After being diagnosed with lymphoma in 2012, Dr. Jin began practicing meditation and conducting related research. He has successfully recovered his health without using any medicine or standard therapies. He is now a meditation teacher and an independent researcher on healing meditation, Taoism, Confucianism, process philosophy and related scientific issues. Dr. Jin is based in Shenzhen, China. For more information, see: Zhenbao jin – YouTube and meditationtaoist.

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Process Pop-Up: The Diabolical Trinity
2023-06-12 17:00 - 18:00
In this Pop-Up, Dr. Mark Karris will guide us through research on why individuals are distancing from or leaving the church and discuss the differences between spiritual abuse, religious trauma, religious disorientation growth syndrome, and adverse religious experiences. We’ll also delve into the religious trauma caused by Hell indoctrination: the unholy trinity of traumatizing beliefs in a tormenting Hell, a wrathful God, and human depravity. Lastly, we’ll explore the impact of these beliefs and coping strategies, and describe healing interventions for those with religious trauma.

RSVP required to receive ZOOM info.

About the Facilitator

Dr. Mark Gregory Karris is a licensed marriage and family therapist in full-time private practice in San Diego, California. He specializes in religious trauma, men’s issues, and couples therapy. Mark is the author of the best-selling book Divine Echoes: Reconciling Prayer with the Uncontrolling Love of God and The Diabolical Trinity: Healing Religious Trauma from a Wrathful God, Tormenting Hell, and a Sinful Self (SacraSage, 2023).

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Process Pop-Up: Attuning with Things: The Mind According to Nishitani Keiji
2023-05-17 17:00 - 18:00
We are not our brains and brains are not computers. The mind is much more than computations. As more than a few authors acknowledge today in the philosophy of mind, the notion that the mind is a computer fails because it makes us ignore the relevance of the body for our mental lives. Yet, we need to go even further: tiles and stones, rivers and valleys, all things participate in the making of an individual mind. Regarding the problem of how we can ever hope to know anything about the world, we should not ask how we can get in contact with things: we already are essentially connected with them. The question is, rather, how we can attune with them so that they can show their real being.

This is the approach presupposed by the Japanese philosopher Nishitani Keiji (1900-1990), one of the main representatives of the Kyoto School. Even though the mind was not explicitly among his main topics of interest, Carlos Barbosa Cepeda believes that we can learn much about the way that Keiji touches upon the topic in his works. Keiji argues that we get to know a certain fact due to the mutual projection of mind and fact. This notion can help us to achieve a vivid (i.e. not merely theoretical/discursive) understanding of who we are, and it can also help us to regain our confidence that we can get to know reality even if we are not professional scientists.

In this Pop-Up, Kyoto School scholar Carlos Barbosa Cepeda will explore Nishitani Keiji’s philosophy of mind, showing how ideas from the Japanese philosopher help us move beyond metaphors of the mind as a computer and achieve a more vivid understanding of who we are.

RSVP required to receive ZOOM info.

About the Facilitator

Carlos Barbosa Cepeda, PhD, is professor of philosophy at Universidad Pedagógica Nacional (Bogotá, Colombia). He is a member of the European Network of Japanese Philosophy (ENOJP) and the Latin-American Association of Intercultural Philosophy (ALAFI). His main research fields are Japanese philosophy and philosophy of religion. Some of his recent published papers include “Nishitani and Environmental Ethics” (2022), “The Interdependent Constitution of Subjectivity and the Socio-ecological Challenges of the 21st-century: An Approach from Dōgen” (2021; in Spanish), and “Nishitani Keiji’s Notion of Mind” (2020).

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Process Pop-Up: Deconstructing Hell
2023-05-16 17:00 - 18:30
Would a loving God sentence anyone to eternal torment? Chad Bahl and other open and relational thinkers say no in their new book Deconstructing Hell: Open and Relational Responses to the Doctrine of Eternal Conscious Torment. In this online event, we’ll explore why Chad and his fellow authors argue that perhaps no modern church dogma has been more destructive to the mission of Jesus, created more atheists, or generated more religious trauma than that of eternal conscious torment (ECT) for the non-believer.

Chad, a doctoral student of Thomas Jay Oord, will highlight the very good reasons to deconstruct what many see as a harmful doctrine and introduce more constructive and healing approaches to understanding ‘final judgment.’

About the Facilitator

Chad Bahl is a DThM candidate at Northwind Theological Seminary, where he specializes in the study of Open and Relational Theology. Bahl is the author of God Unbound: An Evangelical Reconsiders Tradition in Search of Truth and the author/editor of Deconstructing Hell: Open and Relational Responses to the Doctrine of Eternal Conscious Torment.

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Interfaith Explorations Spring 2023: Cultivating Spirituality in Daily Life
2023-05-10 10:00 - 11:00, 2023-05-03 10:00 - 11:00, 2023-04-26 10:00 - 11:00, 2023-04-19 10:00 - 11:00, 2023-04-12 10:00 - 11:00, 2023-04-05 10:00 - 11:00, 2023-03-29 10:00 - 11:00, 2023-03-22 10:00 - 11:00 and 1 more date
In this offering, qualities of heart and mind to help us in our daily life at home, in family, in the workplace, and other situations in the journey of life, such as births, deaths, joys, traumas will be explored through the framework of Spiritual Alphabet, developed by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. Our sessions will be facilitated by Dr. Jay McDaniel and Sophia Said, who will bring two “letters” from the spiritual alphabet to each session (“A” is for attention, “B” is for beauty, “C” is for connection, etc.), sharing quotations, poems, and stories from personal experiences that illuminate them; and then, with help from prompting questions, invite others to do the same.

Interfaith Explorations is a program of the Interfaith Center of Arkansas, and is co-sponsored by the Cobb Institute, Spirituality & Practice, and Process & Faith.

This event is free and open to the public.

LEARN MORE & RSVP

Process Pop-Up: Process Mysticism
2023-04-18 17:00 - 18:00
Drawing from his latest book, Process Mysticism, Dan Dombrowski will offer a process philosophical approach to mysticism or religious experience. “Mysticism” can refer to either direct experience of God or the claim that such experience is ineffable and both senses of the term will be analyzed. In this Pop-Up, Dan will use the process philosophies of Charles Hartshorne, Alfred North Whitehead, and Henri Bergson to explore this subject. His aim is not so much to demonstrate that such experiences are true or veridical as it is to understand, in a William Jamesian fashion, how they could be possible and not contradict the concept of God held by philosophers and theologians.

Dan’s presentation will touch on divine world-inclusiveness, ideal power and tragedy, the ontological argument, asceticism and the via negativa, divine visions and voices, and the aesthetics and ethics of mysticism. With an ecumenical approach, Dan will attempt to illuminate mystical experiences as they occur around the world in different religious traditions, while claiming familiarity only with the Abrahamic religions.

About the Facilitator

Daniel A. Dombrowski is Professor of Philosophy at Seattle University. He is the author of twenty-two books and over a hundred and ninety articles in scholarly journals in philosophy, theology, classics, and literature. Among his books are Rethinking the Ontological Argument: A Neoclassical Theistic Perspective (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006); Contemporary Athletics and Ancient Greek Ideals (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009); and Process Philosophy and Political Liberalism: Rawls, Whitehead, Hartshorne (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2019). His main areas of intellectual interest are metaphysics and philosophy of religion from a neoclassical or process perspective. He is the Editor of the journal Process Studies.

Interweavings: Deep Listening: A Chaplain Approach to Healing and Wholeness
2023-01-19 17:00 - 18:00
Around the world, the polarization and radicalization of groups who have lost faith in their fellow humans is increasing. We are seeing a troubling rise in generalizations and manipulative propaganda that encourage dehumanization of our fellow human family members. It seems that as each year passes, the opportunities diminish for meaningful interactions and conversations which serve as short- and long-term reminders that we are communities that thrive on differences of thought and commonality of values. We have self-segregated to the point that we can stay in our physical and virtual bubbles, significantly limiting our connections to our neighbors. Single dimensions of complex identities have shifted would-be friends into presumed enemies. Chaplains learn to minister to people of all faiths and beliefs. These skills can be applied to heal divides and bring people back together.

Facilitators: Scott Nichols and Kathleen Reeves

Scott Nichols is the director of Spiritual Care and a Chaplain for Gentiva Hospice in central Illinois with over 15 years’ experience in Chaplaincy and Family Ministry. Having earned his BA in General Ministry and MA in Christian Leadership from Lincoln Christian University, Scott has combined his education and experience in developing a universal approach to spirituality and ministry. Scott began his clinical career as a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor for the state of Illinois, focusing on dual-diagnoses patients and family therapy with Gateway Foundation and Chestnut Health Systems. He has lectured on topics such as Case Management and Behavioral Therapy at the NAADAC Annual Conference. In his free time, Scott enjoys creating and teaching music in his studio and relaxes by retreating to his “cabin” in the hills of Alabama.

The Reverend Kathleen Reeves is the Director of Spiritual Care at RIVA Hospice of California where she works as chaplain and bereavement coordinator. Kathleen is an ordained interfaith minister and holds a Master of Divinity in interfaith theology. She has been active in interfaith peace and is a member of the Inland Valley Interfaith Working Group for Middle East Peace. She is the President of the Upland Interfaith Council. Kathleen is part of the Cobb Institute team and works to live a life in process.

Kathleen is a student of Japanese tea ceremony through the international Chado Urasenke Tankokai association of the Urasenke school in Kyoto, Japan. Kathleen follows an earth-based religion.

Process Pop-Up: Family, Parenting, Young Spirituality, and Process
2023-01-10 17:00 - 18:00
How might a process perspective help parents to raise their children to be spiritual, resilient, creative, and compassionate? Join Jay McDaniel and Bonnie Rambob as they join together to facilitate a conversation about such topics as:

Nurturing the spiritual child—practices for spiritual parents

Spiritual development across life stages

God as parent—new ways of thinking with process-oriented perspective

Bringing spirituality into parenting after a faith crisis, holding space for spirit in the desolate wilderness

Intergenerational and Interfaith Ministry/Community—the Village

Tenderness as tending the hearth at home

Facilitators

During the pandemic, Rev. Bonnie Rambob shifted her paid job from parish ministry to teaching kindergarten at her local public school. Bonnie enjoys working in, writing about, podcasting on, and exploring areas such as: multi-faith leadership, the spirituality of children and parenting, process theology, political activism, and progressive Christianity. As a spiritual traveler who migrated out of evangelical/fundamentalist Christianity, Bonnie co-leads several ministries of accompaniment for others who are in faith-shift. She co-hosts two podcasts: Haystacks, for former and fringe Seventh-day Adventists, and Irenicast, on progressive Christianity. Bonnie loves climbing trees, knitting, and hiking with her partner and two young adult sons.

Jay McDaniel, PhD, is professor emeritus of world religions at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas; editor of the website Open Horizons; author of several books on process and ecology and process and spirituality; and chair of the board of the Cobb Institute.

Process Prep: Exploring Christian Process Theology in Small Groups
2022-12-19 17:00 - 18:00
Would you like to introduce friends to Christian Process Theology in a local setting? Not in a dogmatic way but in a friendly, conversational way so that people can explore its ideas for themselves? That’s the process spirit. The Cobb Institute offers a slideshow and power point for this purpose, based on Marjorie Suchocki’s understanding of process theology. In this one-hour pop-pop, Jay McDaniel will walk participants through the slideshow and offer tips for how to use it in a Sunday School class or discussion group. No need for experts. The slideshow does the teaching and you, the teacher, facilitate the discussion.

About the Facilitator

Jay McDaniel, PhD, is professor emeritus of world religions at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas; editor of the website Open Horizons; author of several books on process and ecology and process and spirituality; and chair of the board of the Cobb Institute.

Process Pop-Up: The Tao Flows on Like a River Forever
2022-12-13 17:00 - 18:00
Dating back in the Chinese oral tradition to the 11th Century BCE and now read by Westerners since the mid-1800s when Western-language translations were first available, the Tao in the Tao Te Ching is described as an endless source of novelty, ever flowing forward, yet always favoring the good. These depictions of the Tao resemble many of Alfred North Whitehead’s dynamic concepts, such as concrescence, process, living immediacy, and the inter-relatedness of contrasts. In this Pop-Up event, Dr. Rosemarie Anderson will provide examples of verses from her own translation of the Tao Te Ching, suggestive of the intimacy between the Tao Te Ching and Whitehead’s philosophy of organism and why modern Chinese are now attracted to Process Philosophy.

About the Facilitator

Rosemarie Anderson, PhD, is professor emerita of psychology at Sofia University, an author, poet, and Episcopal priest. In 2017 she received the Abraham Maslow Heritage Award from the Society for Humanistic Psychology of the American Psychological Association. She is author of Celtic Oracles (Random House, 1998) and The Divine Feminine Tao Te Ching: A New Translation and Commentary (Inner Traditions, 2021) and co-author of several scholarly books on transpersonal/transformative research methods.

Interweavings: A Season of Darkness and Light
2022-11-30 17:00 - 18:00
Cosmologically, this period of late fall marks the increase in hours of darkness until the winter solstice when the hours of light begin to make a return. Many religions have major holidays during this period. For some, the period of darkness is not feared but is celebrated as a time of rest and renewal or of waiting in a kind of pregnant pause. Most celebrate the increase in light and see this turning of the season as the welcome return of the energies of rebirth and growth.

In this event, we’ll introduce some of the major holidays in late fall and early winter, noting their significance in each tradition. We’ll look at Diwali, Advent, Hanukkah, St. Lucia Day, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Epiphany, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve, and Lunar New Year.

Come prepared to share a brief memory of a favorite winter holiday food or tradition from your own background!

Facilitator: Sheri Kling, Ph.D.

Sheri D. Kling, Ph.D. is an author, speaker, singer, and spiritual mentor who draws from wisdom and mystical traditions, relational worldviews, depth psychology, and the intersection of spirituality and science to help people find meaning, belonging, and transformation. She regularly delivers dynamic “Music & Message” presentations to groups, and offers courses, concerts, and spiritual retreats. Dr. Kling is director of Process & Faith and the John Cobb Legacy Fund and a faculty member of the Haden Institute. She sees her mission as midwifing wholeness in individuals, organizations, communities, and culture. Her work can be found online at www.sherikling.com.

Power and the God of Love: A Process-Open-Relational Conference
2022-11-04 00:00 - 2022-11-05 23:59
Dates: November 4-5, 2022

Site: CrossWalk Community Church, Napa, CA

Cost: $79 if registered before Nov. 1;$99 at the door (after Nov. 1);in-person donation asked from those only attending Friday evening, November 4.

Speakers: Jim Brenneman, Anna Case-Winters, Andrew Davis, Dan Dombrowski, Brian Felushko, Curtis Holtzen, Catherine Keller, Sheri Kling, Patrick J. Mahaffey, Thomas Jay Oord, Bonnie Rambob, Rajeev Rambob, Matt Segall, Pete Shaw, John Thataminal, Deanna Young, and others

Register

Interweavings: Remembering our Ancestors & Honoring our Beloved Dead
2022-10-22 10:00 - 11:00
Sponsored by the Pagan path

Hosted by Kathleen Reeves

The end of October is marked by many cultures as a sacred time when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead becomes more porous. Gaelic or Celtic cultures celebrate Samhain and the Christian tradition has honored its dead on All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days. The wonderful animated film “Coco” honors the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead in exuberant color. On October 22, Process & Faith will hold a special online event, sponsored by the Pagan Path, that will be a service of remembrance for everyone who has lost or grieved a loved one. Attendees will be encouraged to bring pictures of their loved ones.

Process Pop-up: Balancing Eight Spiritual Tensions
2022-10-12 17:00 - 18:00
Facilitated by Jared Morningstar

Join an interactive Pop-Up event where we will explore four pairs of religious and spiritual dispositions which are in tension with one another. Participants will explore the feelings that come up with each of the perspectives, and try to find ways to see richness in both sides of the tensions, rather than just rejecting one side and restricting one’s perspective. Together we will consider how we can hold these tensions with grace so as to not lose the organic dynamism of authentic spirituality.

Resources:

Jared’s Article: “Eight Paradoxical Propositions on the Nature of True Spirituality”

Process Thinking & Human Living
2022-09-30 17:00 - 20:00
The way we think and the beliefs we hold about the workings of our cosmos have a huge impact on the way we live. Often, our view of the world may rest on unquestioned assumptions that no longer reflect reality. In fact, some of our assumptions about the world work directly against human flourishing.

Since the early twentieth century, many have found life-giving resources in the work of Alfred North Whitehead and others working in what is now called process philosophy and process or open and relational theologies. Process thought often has more in common with ways of thinking that are found in the East – such as in the traditions of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism – than it does with the dominant worldview in the West. How might we apply these resources in both East and West to address the division and suffering we see in our world today?

In this 3-hour, online seminar, speakers from Process & Faith, a program of the Center for Process Studies of Claremont School of Theology will explore aspects of process thought that make a positive difference in human life and in the life of the earth. A second seminar is being planned for early 2023 on process thought and various religious traditions.

TOPICS

Beauty in Troubled Times: Process Aesthetics

In a time of lament and anxiety across the world, we yearn for peace. Whitehead said that peace is primarily a “trust in the efficacy of Beauty.” In this talk by Patricia Adams Farmer, we will explore ways in which a process view of beauty can help refresh our spirits, widen our souls, and offer hope to our beleaguered planet.

Patricia Adams Farmer

Ideas in Process: Five Whiteheadian Transitions

At the heart of Whitehead’s process philosophy are several transformative existential and theological transitions. This presentation by Andrew Davis will focus on five in particular: 1. From Exception to Exemplification; 2. From Being to Becoming; 3. From Mechanism to Organism; 4. From Independence to Mutual Immanence; and 5. From Force to Persuasion. These transitions not only transform the way we understand our existence and experience in relation to the world, they also transform our understanding of God and God’s relationship to and interaction with the world.

Andrew M. Davis

Healing Politics: Process and Political Theology

In this time of political polarization, process and open and relational theologies provide a pathway toward a more perfect union, embracing diversity and difference in ways that promote the growth and well-being of persons and communities. Today, we need communities of stature that affirm the benefit of contrasting viewpoints in securing economic justice, human rights, and ecological well being. In this talk by Bruce Epperly, we will explore ways to embody the beloved community in politics, balance freedom and responsibility, and join compassion and law in securing the interplay of order and novelty.

Bruce Epperly

Wholeness & Transformation: A Process Spirituality

Evidence of fragmentation abounds at all levels of human experience – societal, interpersonal, and even within ourselves. What will bring us the wholeness and transformation for which we yearn? In this presentation, Sheri Kling will draw from the integrating work of Whitehead and Swiss psychologist Carl G. Jung to show us that at both the level of the cosmos and of the human psyche, reality is whole-making and sacred. We can come to know that reality for ourselves through spiritual practices like dream work that facilitate embodied experiences of wholeness and show us that we matter, we belong, and we can experience positive change.

Sheri D. Kling

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SPEAKERS

Andrew M. Davis, Ph.D., is Program Director for the Center for Process Studies at Claremont School of Theology. A native of northern California, he was born and raised among the towering redwoods of Occidental and the meandering woodlands of Santa Rosa’s Bennett Valley. It was out of these natural settings that his passion for the questions of philosophy, theology and religion first emerged. He holds B.A. in Philosophy and Theology, an M.A. in Interreligious Studies, and a Ph.D. in Religion and Process Philosophy from Claremont School of Theology. He was recently nominated and elected as a fellow for the International Society of Science and Religion (ISSR). He is a poet, aphorist and author or editor of several books including Mind, Value, and Cosmos: On the Relational Nature of Ultimacy (nominated for the ISSR 2022 Book Prize). Follow his work at andrewmdavis.info.

Bruce Epperly, Ph.D., has spent over forty years in the varied vocations of seminary and university professor, university chaplain, congregational pastor, and seminary administrator. He is the author of over sixty books in theology, spirituality, health and healing, scripture, politics, and ministerial excellence and wellbeing, including The Elephant is Running: Process and Open and Relational Theologies and Religious Pluralism; Process Theology: Embracing Adventure with God; Mystics in Action: Twelve Saints for Today; Prophetic Healing: Howard Thurman’s Vision of Contemplative Activism; and Francis of Assisi: From Privilege to Activism. His comments for this event are inspired by his Process Theology and Politics. Follow his work at Patheos.

Patricia Adams Farmer, M.Div., M.A., M.Ed., is a process theologian, writer, and minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She is the author of Embracing a Beautiful God, Fat Soul: A Philosophy of S-I-Z-E, Replanting Ourselves in Beauty (edited with Jay McDaniel), Beauty and Process Theology: A Journey of Transformation, and two theological novels: The Metaphor Maker and Fat Soul Fridays. While serving a small congregation in Fulton, Missouri, she enjoys playing classical guitar, restoring her historical home, and spending time with her husband, Ron Farmer, and their ginger cat, Alfie. Follow her work at patriciaadamsfarmer.com.

Sheri D. Kling, Ph.D., is the director of Process and Faith (Center for Process Studies of Claremont School of Theology) and the John Cobb Legacy Fund. She is also a writer, teacher, and constructive theologian who integrates the process-relational philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead and the analytical psychology of C. G. Jung for psycho-spiritual wholeness. She is a faculty member of the Haden Institute, the author of A Process Spirituality: Christian and Transreligious Resources for Transformation and Finding Home: Rural Reflections on the Journey to Wholeness and editor or contributor to several other texts. Sheri lives with her dog Bobby and her cat, Chelsea, in Bradenton, Florida, where she enjoys Gulf breezes and local wildlife. Follow her work at sherikling.com.

HOSTS

This seminar is a collaboration of Process & Faith in the U.S., the Network of Spiritual Progressives – Australia, and the Centre for Interfaith Understanding in Singapore. It is co-sponsored by the Center for Process Studies and the Cobb Institute.

Adis Duderija, Co-Convener, Network of Spiritual Progressives (Australia)

Adis Duderija, Ph.D., is a Senior Lecturer in the study of Islam and Society at Griffith University in Brisbane. His research expertise is the theory of progressive Islam , interfaith dialogue theory, Islamic feminist hermeneutics and Islamic fundamentalism. He has published widely and extensively in these topics along with inter-faith dialogue, theory and practice.

Mohamed Imran, Co-Convener, Centre for Interfaith Understanding (Singapore)

Mohamed Imran is an interfaith advocate working on diversity issues in Singapore. He founded CIFU in 2019 after almost two decades of devoting himself to interfaith and intercultural work. A graduate in Philosophy with an interest in the sociology of religion, he writes and research on multiculturalism, religious reform and Islam in Malay society. He believes in deepening conversations and moving beyond precarious toleration in meeting the challenges facing society and across differences.

SPONSORS

Process & Faith Members Meeting
2022-08-23 16:30 - 17:30
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
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
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.

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