Southminster-steinhauer United Church

I Once Believed: Re-Framing a Traditional Christian Past Part 4

Even though the Christian church turned a common cultural practice of ritual washing into an exercise in “sin management”, there are still remnants of something else, something simpler. There is still a hint of the first century teacher and his followers who had something completely different to say about this experience. This is from the community of Mark who shared and wrote these words: In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the spirit, as like a dove alighted upon him. And he heard a message: “You are my son, beloved; a source of pride and pleasure.” (Mark 1: 9-11) This baptism contains no negative talk, no self-loathing. There is no derision for being less than, or a call to be washed of what came before. As Jesus comes out of the water, he experiences a vision – a positively delightful vision – of affirmation, of acceptance. The whole event is an allegory for what it means

I Once Believed: Re-Framing a Traditional Christian Past Part 2 Many of us who, either long ago or more recently, have found our way to SSUC have come from very different spiritual experiences. Some have come from other traditions entirely, some from a more evangelical upbringing, many from what you might call a liberal Untied Church tradition or similar, and some weren’t raised in the Christian tradition, but have come with ideas and notions from pop culture of what the Christian church is. For some, this might be a positive memory and experience; For others, a more negative or traumatizing past. Either way, it’s important to always be evaluating what we learned early on, what we’ve unlearned, what we now understand in light of where we are now on our journey…regardless of where that is. For as much good as the writings of any text might inspire, promote social justice and positive change, dogmatic belief statements have more frequently been used or misused to exclude, to uphold evil, unjust, harmful and v

I Once Believed: Re-Framing a Traditional Christian Past Part 1 Beliefs and understandings are always evolving in a healthy spirituality. We all change and grow, finding that things we once believed have needed to be put aside, rejected, or allowed to evolve into something new. There is no one right place to be on that journey: from those beginning to sense that something feels different in their relationship to their beliefs, to those who’ve been through this process many times over many years…and everything in between. For all of us, it’s healthy to assess our beliefs regularly. This series will examine a number of beliefs that were/are common in traditional Christianity, the potential harm they can cause, possible expansive alternatives that don’t leave us rudderless, and concepts that may have relevance for our living today. Find more at www.ssucedmonton.com facebook.com/ssuc_yeg instagram.com/ssuc_yeg

Part Three: The Grief of Change "Some things cannot be fixed, they can only be carried."

The Paradox of Change Mere change is not growth. Growth is the synthesis of change and continuity and where there is no continuity there is no growth. - C.S. Lewis This audio taken from a live gathering. Join us every week at ssucemonton.com/live at 10 AM (MT) for our weekly spiritual reflection. Follow us at facebook.com/ssucedmonton instagram.com/ssuc_yeg