Test the Waters this Saturday!

Here is my letter to folks in this month's newsletter.

Dear Friends,

As you look through the newsletter you will find a busy church. We are looking forward to Dinner on the Grounds on the 11th, and Music Sunday and the planting of the Peace Pole on the 18th.

We welcome Benji Burrell of www.ilovemountains.org who will speak to us about mountain top removal strip mining on September 11th.

You will find information about youth events, our campus ministry at ETSU, our autumn equinox ritual, food for the multitude, PFLAG, Bible and book studies, Dances of Universal Peace, and much, much more.

Do read this issue of the White Spire carefully and note all the things available. I would like to highlight September 10th. From ten am until one pm we invite those who are new to our congregation to come and “test the waters” to see if this congregation is a good fit for you. You will find details about that in this newsletter.

I should tell you that we are a progressive congregation affiliated with “The Center for Progressive Christianity” www.tcpc.org. People often wonder what does “progressive” mean? While there is no one definition, I find it helpful to point them to the eight points of progressive Christianity. On page 5 of this issue you will find a poster with the new 2011 version of the eight points.

I especially like the openness of the eight points to include everyone from conventional Christians to questioning skeptics to believers and agnostics. While we have one foot in our tradition we have another foot stepping out into the unknown.

Many things that we thought Christianity took for granted are being reexamined in light of science, philosophy, the environment, and literary and historical study. As our mission statement (also printed in our newsletter) states:

“…we seek to create a Christian community that honors our past, is vitally connected to our present, and looks with hope and vision to the generations after us.”

We explore, we challenge, we change. We don’t all think alike by any means. We do honor and respect one another’s spiritual journey even as our journeys take us to various places.

If you are looking for a community that may challenge your mind to new ways of thinking and move your heart toward compassionate action, then you might come test the waters!

Even if you are not sure if you are up for all that challenge, come for the free lunch anyway!

Blessed Be,
John