Beyond Theology: Co-Creation

Sunday night we will again engage the DVD series Beyond Theology by watching "Episode 7: A Spirituality of Co-Creation". The term and concept "co-creation" are familiar to The Gathering as we often say we are co-creating with God. In this 25 minute dvd, we'll further explore this idea. Sister Joan Chittester begins the conversation by saying: "We need a new spirituality in our time -- not simply an intellectual spirituality, not simply a relational spirituality, not simply a contemplative spirituality, but a spirituality that emerges out of the concept of the responsibility to co-creation - meaning: God did not create this world finished; God left the world unfinished for us to do, to complete. That's how we understand the whole function of human science, human education, human charity, human spirituality".

The Beyond Theology series explores the evolution of consciousness and examines topics such as the challenges confronting humanity and the changing representations of God. Bill Moyers praises the series by saying, "This is an ambitious series with some of the most interesting voices in religion in America today. They take us beyond the current conflicts about religion and politics and show us a hopeful vision of faith based on the deepest longings of heart and mind."

Our offering will be designated for needs within The Gathering community as well as for Project Dignidad. Please bring canned/nonperishable food products or donate money for food to be bought. Every little bit makes a big difference.

Teresa Rylander, the inspiration and co-planner and leader of Sunday's Gathering, writes the following about this week's Gathering: We will be talking about taking mindfulness practice off the cushion and bringing it into our day to day life (or more correctly, our moment to moment life). Jan Chozen Bays defines mindfulness as: "...deliberating paying full attention to what is happening around you and within you-in your body, heart, and mind-without criticism or judgment.

The key is deliberately choosing where you place your attention. For, if left unattended, the mind will run off to anyplace other than here and now. Its frequent haunts are: if only-ingin the past, trying to rewrite the script for a moment that no longer exists; or, what if-ing some future moment that may or may not come to pass. And, sometimes, it just goes plain goofy. Case in point: last week while on a walk, I started out by noticing the beauty around me, but, at some point, I noticed my mind had roamed off to Austin to expound on the ludicrous parking on Congress Avenue. Definitely not how I wanted to spend my precious walking moments.

Sunday, we will consider practicing choosing where we want to spend our "one wild and precious life" (Mary Oliver) rather than letting the gremlin of the unattended mind make the only moment of life we actually have-this moment-go unnoticed.

Wanting to share the gift and joy of spending a moment reading, our offering will be designated for The Adult Literacy Council of the Concho Valley. Following the service, we will share a potluck meal.

Gathering for Film Night

Sunday, August 11, 2013, 5:30 pm, 618 Locust Street

Water and oil are always important topics in San Angelo, and this Sunday we'll combine the issues when we gather to watch Tapped, a 2009 documentary that examines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on our health, climate change, pollution, and our reliance on oil. The movie explores the "manufacture" of the water itself, and also where the bottles come from, where they go after use and how they influence our lives while they're with us.

Directors Stephanie Soechtig and Jason Lindsey became interested in the topic after research into ocean pollution "kept leading them to bottled water". The movie won the Best Documentary award at both the Anchorage and Eugene International Film Festivals.

Leading the discussion will be Sin, and our offering beneficiary has not yet been determined. For more information about the movie before Sunday night, check out www.tappedthemovie.com.

Re-Gathering

It's time to re-Gather as a group at Promenade Square, 618 Locust Street, THIS SUNDAY, August 4, 5:30 pm.  We will gather together for worship and to share stories of vacations, reunions, cook-outs, community dinners, sabbaticals, and other summer activities that have reminded us again that the whole universe is indeed God's body (Sally McFague).  Our offering will be designated for The Gathering - our regular operating account and our future facility fund.  Following worship we will share a community potluck dinner.