"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside everything that impedes us, all the ways we miss the mark that so easily entangle us. Let us run with perseverance the race laid out for us." Hebrews 12:1
Dear Friends,
We will invite the spirit of Dr. John B. Cobb Jr. to join us for our yearly, All Saints Day, All Souls Day and Day of the Dead worship, Sunday, November 2nd 4 pm pst. Join us on Google Meeting Link or in person at the John Cobb Eco Farm. John passed to the other side less than a year ago and we welcome this opportunity to honor and remember him.
https://meet.google.com/eto-aioq-xov
I did not grow up in the church or with a God worldview. Providence blessed me with a close relationship with John Cobb a Christian theologian who supported and attended Church for Our Common Home regularly for many years. He supported me as an untraditional artist and minister every step of the way, as we founded the Church for Our Commo Home and later moved and expanded our ministry to Oregon. We are God centered and guided and invite you to come to this beautiful sanctuary to love and be loved by the natural world. Thank you, John Cobb, for showing us a way when there seems to be no way during this time of unparalleled existential crisis. John is now is part of the "Cloud of Witnesses" encouraging us to continue to run the race he ran so well.
Gusto for God was perhaps what brought me and John together. To say we were different is an understatement. I did not grow up in the church and John Cobb's parents were Christian missionaries. John was a gentle genius who was never threatened by people who were different than he was. He passionately critiqued American Empire and the cruel self-destructive suicidal path of the modern world. He offered us a beautiful counter cultural vision of Jesus, the Kingdon of God or what John called an ecological civlization.
Fundamentalism, or thinking your way is the only way, is prevalent on the right, left, the religious, and nonreligious, scientific, nonscientific, smart and not so smart etc. Perhaps moving eighteen times in my first eighteen years in five different countries developed my large appetite for diversity in people, foods, stories, religions, theologies, artwork, images. cultures etc. God loves us - all creatures and with gusto. That is my experince. Just look at the stars and galaxies or into the eyes of a goat, or the orange color of a nasturtium. We are here to love God and one another with gusto ............oh yes and the natural world which too often in the modern world has been left out of religion, well everything.
Please bring photos of loved ones both human and non-human animals who have passed and food they enjoyed. We will share memories and stories, foods and photos. John Cobb loved miso soup probably because he was born and grew up in Japan. We will enjoy miso soup, as well as avocado on toast in memory of my mother and for my Dad - a martini with a green olive. A basket of delicious apples from the John Cobb Eco Farm will be in memory of Rudolph Steiner the father of organic farming and brilliant spiritual teacher. John Cobb, Teresa of Avila, Rudolph Steiner, and also our beloved dog Buddy...............and who will you honor and invite to our feast? Eating foods and sharing stories about loved ones who have passed is a meaningful way to honor the dead and remind us they are still with us.
This year I will honor Saint Teresa of Avila, the 16th century, Spanish mystic, and "Doctor" of the Catholic Church. She has become my beloved soul sister and close friend. She invites us to go with her on an interior soul pilgrimage in her timeless book, The Interior Castle. Our first Sunday monthly Taize worship has been rescheduled for the second Sunday, November 16th in order to celebrate All Souls Day this weekend. What mystic from history do you want to honor this weekend?
"A group of women walked into the kitchen and found Saint Teresa veraciously devouring a toasted partridge. (a type of cooked chicken) " What are you doing?" they asked astonished and scandalized. "I'm eating a partridge." Teresa replied. "When I fast, I fast. And when I eat partridge, I eat partridge!" Then she resumed eating with gusto."Teresa Bielecki, from Teres of Avila, Ecstasy and Common Sense
With gusto we will share a banquet that of worship, including, scripture and prayer, music, dancing and food. Please help us invite the communion of saints and our loved ones. After all, we have a race to run together and you gotta eat, right? May we nourish ourselves body, mind and spirit, and let's do it with GUSTO!
We have changed to Google Meeting for those joining us online for worship.
https://meet.google.com/eto-aioq-xov
or please find the link on church website homepage.
Earth Crisis Support Groups and Potluck Parties every Sunday after worship 5-7 pm Dallas, Oregon. Please contact us with questions and prayer requests.