Knox Centre - Education and Spiritual Formation
Enlivening the spiritual journey. Bringing a spirit-filled perspective to the church and culture.
Knox Centre is committed to offering informative programs and events in contemporary Christian and interfaith spirituality and practice. Knox Centre is the adult education ministry of Knox United Church, and an outreach ministry to spiritual seekers and inquirers of Calgary and beyond.
Your financial support of the Knox Centre ministry of spiritual education and formation, social justice and ethics, is gratefully received. Please make cheques payable to: Knox United Church designating your special gift to the “Knox Centre Designate Fund.” A tax receipt will be issued for gifts greater than $20.
For more information about Knox Centre, please contact Drew Strickland at (403) 266-6450, or by email: knoxunited@gmail.com
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The Forum on Ecological Spirituality and Evolutionary Cosmology
Introduction (Intro pdf version here)
Inspired by the work of Thomas Berry, the Forum on Ecological Spirituality and Evolutionary Cosmology will be launched in early 2010 by Knox Centre at Knox United Church in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
"It's all a question of story. We are in trouble just now because we do not have a good story. We are in between stories. The old story, the account of how we fit into it, is no longer effective. Yet we have not learned the new story." – All quotations are from Thomas Berry unless otherwise noted.
Thomas Berry (1914-2009) was a Catholic priest, cultural historian, eco-theologian, “geologian” and author whose thinking inspired the current generation of scholars, authors, and ordinary people fascinated and/or appalled by the increasing detachment of the human from the larger earth and universe community.
"We are talking only to ourselves. We are not talking to the rivers, we are not listening to the wind and stars. We have broken the great conversation. By breaking that conversation we have shattered the universe. All the disasters that are happening now are a consequence of that spiritual 'autism.' "
Many discerning thinkers, who have collaborated with Berry over the years, such as Brian Swimme, Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim are continuing “The Great Work” (a title of one of his books) he initiated.
In addition, a small but energized and growing group of popularizers are moving his thinking, and that of others inspired by Berry, into wider public awareness, primarily through books but increasingly via DVD series and study guides. This list includes people like Michael Dowd, Bruce Sanguin, David Korten, and Duane Elgin. Others, such as Matthew Fox and Sallie McFague, have had their own creation or ecological spiritual wisdom on offer for several decades and are now emerging into ever-increasing public awareness.
“From a large planet of overwhelming magnitude, unlimited resources and endless mystery, the Earth has suddenly become a small planet, thoroughly explored, limited in resources, and reduced in mystery.”
Education and Awareness Raising
The primary founding intent of the Forum is to provide the people of Calgary and surrounding areas an opportunity to become aware of, and participate in, this emerging spiritual awakening bursting forth into global human consciousness. The initial phase will involve an educational and awareness raising endeavour designed to immerse interested seekers in the ideas and thinking of the leading figures engaged in discerning the way forward for the human community within the Earth and Universe community. This phase will continue indefinitely as new ideas come forth but also as more people become aware of the opportunity to get involved with this emerging venture.
Personal and Community Reflection
Importantly, the Forum will also provide a literal place of rest and contemplation. Thomas Berry explained that one of his reasons for entering the monastery was that he had many things to “brood” on and he needed time to think and get his own thoughts in order before proceeding with his ministry to the Earth community. The Forum may utilize the Labyrinth room at Knox United Church - a space of beauty and repose suitable for personal and group meditation and reflection on the issues of our day, both great and small.
Creative Activism
Another founding intent of the Forum is to promote creative responses to the work of evolving a new relationship between the human and the Earth Community. This will certainly involve activism of many sorts but, perhaps more importantly, also moving towards the creation of a more artistic response to the changes necessary as we advance “the great work” Berry envisioned. This artistic response will require all of our creative imagination through music, dance, liturgy, ritual, spoken and written word, drama and meditation. To be successful, the Forum will strive to reach the heart and not just the mind of interested seekers.
Starting the Journey – Gathering and Hearing the Story
“The Universe story is the quintessence of reality. We perceive the story. We put it in our language, the birds put it in theirs, and the trees put it in theirs. We can read the story of the Universe in the trees. Everything tells the story of the Universe. The winds tell the story, literally, not just imaginatively. The story has its imprint everywhere, and that is why it is so important to know the story. If you do not know the story, in a sense you do not know yourself; you do not know anything.”
Religious and spiritual traditions place great importance on enlightenment or “gnosis” – knowing. Most modern industrial people intellectually “know” about the scientific discoveries of the past few centuries concerning our place in the evolving Universe and Earth community. However, there is a disconnect between what we “know” and how we “feel” about or deeply connect to these emerging empirical realities. Author Karen Armstrong argues that many of the old myths, which our cultures and religions have developed to give us a sense of meaning and purpose - where we come from, where we’re going and why, have been shattered and no new myths have yet taken their place.
Thomas Berry and others, particularly Brian Swimme, have suggested that a new story or myth is evolving which grounds us firmly in the empirical scientific realities emerging every day but from a perspective that shows how deeply spiritual “The Universe Story” (the title of the joint book by Berry/Swimme) actually is.
“Both education and religion need to ground themselves within the story of the universe as we now understand this story through empirical knowledge. Within this functional cosmology, we can overcome our alienation and begin the renewal of life on a sustainable basis. This story is a numinous revelatory story that could evoke the vision and the energy required to bring not only ourselves but the entire planet into a new order of magnificence.”
The first initiative of the Forum will be to bring interested seekers together to share some of the cumulative wisdom of Berry and others, to reflect and discuss this material individually and communally and discern a way forward to deepen our insights into this profound emerging story. From there, the work of the Forum will evolve based on the needs and energies of the community.
Although some of the popularizers of the work of Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme (Michael Dowd and Bruce Sanguin, for example) have developed ways in which “The Universe Story” can be embraced within the Christian tradition, it is the understanding of the Forum that the wisdom emerging from the new story is for all of humanity regardless of cultural or religious heritage. The Forum acknowledges that this material can inform and enrich the lives of all persons, of any religion or none. As mentioned above, some within the Christian path of faith are making the first explorations as to how to relate this new story to their tradition and the Forum will encourage the study of this emergence as well.
"The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects."
Resources
The resources available in this emerging area are expanding rapidly and will be augmented as new material emerges. Content ranges from introductory to advanced but the core material is that of Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme.
At present, here is a partial listing of study resources which are available to the Forum:
Books
Thomas Berry: The Dream of the Earth, The Great Work.
Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme: The Universe Story
Thomas Berry (edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker): The Christian Future and the Fate of the Earth, The Sacred Universe, and Evening Thoughts
Brian Swimme: The Universe is a Green Dragon and The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos
David Korten: The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community
Duane Elgin: The Living Universe
Michael Dowd: Thank God for Evolution
Bruce Sanguin: Darwin, Divinity and the Dance of the Cosmos
Sallie McFague: Life Abundant
Matthew Fox: Creation Spirituality
DVDs
Thomas Berry: The Great Story, Thomas Berry Speaks, Thomas Berry and the Earth Community
Brian Swimme: Canticle to the Cosmos, Powers of the Universe, Earth’s Imagination, The New Story
Swimme/Berry: The Awakening Universe – a film by Neal Rogin
Michael Dowd: The Great Story, Thank God for Evolution, Evolutionary Christianity, Celebrating Evolution
Bruce Sanguin/Tim Scorer: Experiencing Ecological Christianity
Brian Swimme/Mary Evelyn Tucker: Journey of the Universe (forthcoming 2010)
Online Resources
Thomas Berry www.thomasberry.org
www.earth-community.org
www.religionandecology.org
Brian Swimme www.brianswimme.org
Michael Dowd www.thankgodforevolution.com and www.thegreatstory.org
Contact Information
If you wish to be added to the Forum’s e-mail list and receive updates on news, programs and events, please contact Don Smith at donsmith@nucleus.com
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