I have this week (December 09)launched a BLOG - http://progressivespirituality.blogspot.com/ which aims to encourage exploration of what I’m calling “Progressive Spirituality”. I’d love you to check it out and comment. The main thing I have posted so far is an extended version of the article in the last issues of PCN Newsletter.
For those of you who came into PCN in its relatively early days, like me, you will be aware of the significance of the 8 points - which stared life with our sister organisation in the US, TCPC. The 8 points were a cry of the heart for an open, welcoming, non-exclusive Christianity, accepting of difference. Check out this link: http://www.tcpc.org/about/8points.cfm to be reminded of them.
I was excited by this openness which I steadily came to expect from “church”, as I travelled from evangelical (from University CU experience) to eventual ministerial training as an NSM, in the mid 80s. Once in ministry I steadily moved to embrace justice issues, including the movements to support women’s roles, gay rights and wider acceptance of those in more unorthodox relationships.
The journey from the late 90s become more deeply theological, wrestling with the science and religion debate, becoming more reflective in terms of those new spiritualities emerging from a post modern context, but often connected back to the mystical tradition in early Christianity and indeed other faiths. Indeed my most recent interest has been exploring how to see God in all faiths and spiritual paths. But this of course stretches the more rationalist “liberal” to the limit, and can be a source of tension for we all journey at different paces.
So my instinct is to see that Progressive Christians are at a threshold, where new definitions of what it means to be progressive might need to be openly discussed in PCN Britain and much more widely. I have published a booklet beginning some of this thinking through PCNs sister organisation Free to Believe: check this link - http://freetobelieve.org.uk/booklets2.html and of course I have covered my further developing thoughts in the article in the Newsletter. So whether you comment here, or in my new Blog - I’d be very pleased to hear from you.
John Hetherington
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