Spirit Scholars

Opening an "Open Source" Labyrinth Adds Intriguing Loops to Winding Spiritual Paths

The newest example from Michigan of "Open Source Religion" is the opening of a wheelchair-accessible labyrinth for spiritual walkers on the grounds of the Monroe-based Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (Thanks to Monroe-based photographer John Hile, who is a member of the Assignment Zero Open Source Religion reporting team, for zipping over to this new facility today and capturing these photos for us.)

This order of Catholic nuns maintains a Motherhouse in Monroe for about 200 sisters, many of whom have retired to the facility. Some are disabled. But, these women also defy all stereotypes about aging and religion. As a group, these religious sisters are highly educated, many of them with advanced degrees. This is an order, after all, whose religious focus is on education.

The sisters, better known as the IHM Sisters, already are gaining an international reputation for their work on eco-theology. They've completely redesigned their Motherhouse and grounds to showcase ecologically friendly architecture. To learn more about that phase of their work (which now includes educational programs the sisters sponsor to promote these ideas), go to their home page on the Web and Click on the link for "Sustainable Community."

What the sisters have added to their array of innovative programs this week is a labyrinth that's designed so that even people using electric scooters can enjoy the experience of slowly moving through the winding pathways in a form of "moving meditation," sometimes called "walking prayer" by devotees of the practice.

"We have about 200 sisters living at our motherhouse here in Monroe and some of our sisters use wheelchairs or scooters, so this labyrinth was designed in colored concrete to be completely accessible," Holly Knight, spokeswoman for the sisters, said this week.

The colors of the patterned concrete continue the soft oranges, beiges and ivories of the architecture of the motherhouse, Knight said. The labyrinth is 94 feet in diameter.

Labyrinths have been a Christian tradition for at least 800 years and were popular in French cathedrals as a symbolic way to make a pilgrimage. But the pattern itself is far older than that and reflects a long religious heritage.

We've visited many labyrinth resources online over the years and here a few we've found most useful:

To read about Grace Cathedral (an Episcopal church in San Francisco, California), click here for Grace's labyrinth page. In the United States, Grace Cathedral's the Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress is regarded as the major guru who revived this ancient symbol through a series of talks, books, workshops and Web sites. There are links on this page to Artress' own group, Veriditas, which she describes as "The Voice of the Labyrinth Movement."

While we sincerely salute Dr. Artress for her creative work, we humbly suggest that trying to declare oneself "The Voice" of anything spiritual these days is fundamentally contrary to the Open Source Religion movement. And, frankly, if you look around the Internet for resources, at all, you'll find that people have grabbed the labyrinth idea and run with it to the far corners of the earth -- with or without Dr. Artress' guidance.

Another terrific Web site is The Labyrinth Society. This is co-sponsored by various groups and there are links within the site to people who would like to sell you things. But, overall, it's a pretty good site.

Within that site is a link back to a wonderful resource that leads you right back to Dr. Artress' group again. (And isn't that how the Web itself and Labyrinths, as well, are supposed to work?) It's a World-wide Labyrinth Locator. And, from our experience, it's a very good list of sites -- quite diverse and informative. However, giving the locator a "test drive" today, we immediately realized that a number of Michigan labyrinths somehow have never made it onto this particular list.

But -- hey -- keep walking and keep Web surfing. And maybe somehow, via the Web or the Labyrinth, you'll come around and spot those missing sites.

In Monroe, the new labrynth is NOT on the worldwide site -- so far.

Knight said, "What I like about ours is that it's such a beautiful, quiet spot surrounded by the tall trees we have here. There are lots of birds around. It's very peaceful."

It's also easy to find. From most of Michigan, drive south on I-75 to the Elm Street exit. Head west into Monroe about 2 miles to the motherhouse. Park in the main parking lot; the labyrinth is right there.

The labyrinth will be dedicated July 27, but it's open to the public now during daylight hours, Knight said.

Step Back a Century into one of Michigan's Religious Masterpieces

A story in Easter Sunday's Detroit Free Press drew a host of questions about St. Albertus, the closed Catholic parish just north of Eastern Market in what once was the city's thriving Poletown neighborhood.

People who drive the I-75 corridor north and south from downtown Detroit know the nearby landmarks, St. Josaphat (that's the steeple right along I-75 that seems to merge with the towers of the Renaissance Center as a trademark of Detroit) and Sweetest Heart of Mary (those are the towers on the opposite side of the freeway from St. Josaphat). But most commuters aren't aware that just a stone's throw down the same street from St. Josaphat and Sweetest Heart is the greenish octagonal dome of St. Albertus -- and that the church itself still is open sometimes for tours and once-a-month Mass.

The most common question raised is: How can we find out more about this place? Can we visit? Could we arrange a field trip for a class?

So, in this article we're going to give you that information.

FIRST: Yes, the volunteers who run the non-profit historical association that's trying to preserve the building do like to host tour groups, especially groups that might consider helping out with the effort or perhaps leaving a donation to help shore up the site. They're especially interested in educational groups, since a number of the volunteers hope that there might be a future for the site as a historical venue.

THEN, if you missed it -- here's just an excerpt of what the Free Press story, by David Crumm, reported on Easter Sunday's front page:

"Easter is about discovering new things, and that's why I love coming to St. Albertus," Rick Lapham, 45, of Hamtramck said as he helped dozens of volunteers welcome Holy Week pilgrims from across metro Detroit as they visited St. Albertus and other historic Polish churches Thursday night.

"You can walk into St. Albertus a thousand times and see a thousand new things," Lapham said, pointing to myriad images of stars, angels, saints, biblical stories and historical scenes decorating the church's windows, walls and soaring ceiling.

Described on its Michigan historical marker as the site of Detroit's first Polish-Catholic parish, founded in 1872, the dazzling Gothic Revival church now is a nonprofit historical site, but it will reopen today for a special 11 a.m. Easter mass.

Since St. Albertus' closure as a parish in 1990, it has been tended by about 200 devotees of this slice of Polish-American heritage, including Lapham. They have kept the place heated and in remarkably good shape, despite a few patches of crumbling plaster in the rafters.

In their effort to bring new life to this corner of the city just north of Eastern Market, the Polish American Historic Site Association, which now owns and maintains the building, has received permission from the Archdiocese of Detroit for occasional masses.

The men and women wandering through the building Thursday night often gasped as they threw back their heads to peer at the angels and stars far overhead.

There's a wonderful web site for St. Albertus complete with some of the church's history, some photographs to give you an idea of what you'll see -- and all the contact information you'll need to schedule a tour.

CLICK HERE to jump over to the group's Web site and read more. The volunteers have high hopes for the site, although it's a building sitting right on the perilous fault-line between preservation and -- well, the alternative.

The photos we're showing you here are by Jann Soltis, who is part of the effort, and we're including just a few of them here simply to give you a little tease of what you'll find inside the church -- and in the Albertus Web site itself.

The church's interior is fascinating, especially as a means of catching a glimpse of the vivid spiritual life of Polish-American Catholics! To stand in the nave of the church and peer across the sea of densely packed wooden pews, constructed for the physically smaller immigrants a century ago, is like peering into Detroit's distant past.

But, it's unclear how long the site can last without significant help. The exterior walls need tuck pointing. Interior walls are in pretty good shape, but patches of peeling plaster seem to pepper the interior ceilings.

So, if you love Detroit's religious heritage -- check it out!

Eco-Theology 01: Even Bishops Are Grappling with "... the moral and human dimensions ..."

ONLY a month has passed and already the 2007 Detroit Free Press Religious Voices Roundtable is proving its prophetic value. In the Roundtable's early-January list of "7 to watch in '07," one of their judgments was: Americans will hear more religious leaders talking about the need to protect the natural world. This message is proving to be popular with a wide range of people, so clergy find it easy to preach.

One month later, that message is echoing coast to coast. In Detroit, the Ecumencial Theological Seminary has identified "ecological spirituality" as a key theme for faculty and students to explore. Nationwide, the National Council of Churches has announced an Ecological Sermon Writing Contest. (Click here to read that earlier story about the contest.)

Of course, this follows years of coalition-building by the NCC and a very impressive array of Jewish, Catholic and evangelical-Protestant groups. And, the trend was fueled by the discovery that this theme is a natural "sacred space" in American culture where virtually anyone can feel comfortable joining hands. That realization is a major key unlocking this powerful trend, it seems to us. There's data now from a number of studies demonstrating that a vast cross section of Americans actually appreciate hearing this message preached by our religious leaders. (Wow! Welcoming sermons! What a concept, hmmm?)

BUT NOW, like a tidal wave that's cresting, we're seeing more people crowding toward this table.

Hitting journalists' desks coast to coast on Wednesday was a News Release from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, based in Washington D.C., headlined: U.S. BISHOPS CALL FOR MORAL FOCUS ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE; NEW REPORT DEMANDS URGENT ATTENTION

The opening paragraph read: WASHINGTON (February 7, 2007) – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging members of Congress to address the moral and environmental dimensions of global climate change in the wake of a major international report released last week that cites human activity as the likely cause of rising temperatures around the world.

Attached was a letter that Orlando Bishop Thomas Wenski, the national chairman of the Catholic bishops' Committee on International Policy, sent to Congress. The letter is lengthy. (Click here to read the entire Catholic bishops' news release and Bishop Thomas Wenski's full letter to Congress.) Wenski said, in part: At a time of growing and overdue attention to the challenges of global climate change, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops welcomes your leadership on this issue which literally affects the future of God’s creation.

AND WENSKI SAID, LATER in his letter: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops seeks to offer a constructive contribution to this timely and important national debate. We participate not as climate experts or as scientists, but rather as pastors and teachers who fear that the moral and human dimensions of these decisions will be overwhelmed by political, economic or ideological pressures.

AND, LATER, HE SAID: While no one has easy answers, we ask you to help define and refine what prudence and the pursuit of the common good require. We seek your help in lifting up and focusing on how climate change will affect the “least among us” — the poor, the vulnerable and the voiceless in our country and around the world. We particularly seek your leadership in shaping responses that respect and protect the lives and the dignity of poor families and children.

Read the letter yourself (use the link above) -- and think about saving a copy in your growing files on Eco-Theology. Wenski outlines a pretty solid approach to the issue on behalf of religious leaders.

As always, we'd like to know what you think about this. Click below to add a Comment. Or, drop us an email with your thoughts.

A Cardinal Still Trumps a Bishop, Even in the Egalitarian Online World

UPDATE on this Story, posted February 2: At Spirit Scholars, we're interested in emerging issues in faith and culture -- and we're following the story of Detroit's famous Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Tom Gumbleton, because this is a fascinating case study of a perennial kind of religious dispute -- transformed in new ways by the use of "new media" in the battle.

There is NO indication that Catholic leaders will consider returning Gumbleton as the pastoral administrator of St. Leo's parish in Detroit. That seems to be a closed issue -- and even Gumbleton seems to have moved on from the parish and is starting the next phase of his international ministry. Nevertheless, the dispute continues to simmer.

What's interesting in our Spirit Scholars consideration of the story is that this dispute -- now that it has spilled into "new media" -- is echoing across the country and spilling over into skirmishes that Gumbleton's Detroit supporters probably never envisioned. Recently, Gumbleton's plan to speak to a progressive Catholic group in the Tuscon, Arizona, area was derailed by Tucson Catholic Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas. The group hosting Gumbleton in Arizona had to move to a nearby Protestant church.

All of these "headlines" and all of this "online" activity now is bringing out some of Gumbleton's perennial foes to take fresh shots at him and his ongoing work. A good example of this appears in a Blog that you can find by clicking on this link to the site. We include this "update" so that our readers, who are watching the various tools and techniques in this dispute, can see this next phase in the struggle.

Bottom Line: Once a dispute heads into online realms -- all control over the discussion vanishes and a whole array of people suddenly feel that they're a part of the unfolding conflict.

UPDATE on this Story, posted January 25:
        After reading the story, below, it's interesting to learn that Tom's followers did not give up on his cause as easily as Catholic leaders hoped. Tom asked that news media not cover his final mass on Sunday January 21, HOWEVER, he allowed someone to sit in the front row and videotape his final remarks to his followers. Those remarks included a pointed shot at his superiors in the church, claiming that they had forced him out as administrator of St. Leo's in retribution for his advocacy on behalf of victims of sexual abuse.
        So far, neither Tom nor his followers have presented any "smoking gun" evidence to prove that such punitive action was taken. Tom declines even to describe Who might have delivered this news to him or When such punitive news was delivered to him. Perhaps it's simply a matter of Tom's best guess that this is LIKELY what happened.
        Meanwhile, other Catholic officials deny that Tom was punished. They point out that, at 77, he's 2 years past the retirement age of 75 for a bishop.
        HOWEVER: In an age of online skirmishes those basic questions about firm evidence don't seem to matter as much as the raw power of the dueling online posts -- and this film clip, which surfaced on a National Catholic Reporter Web site in the middle of this week was a pretty good shot from Tom's followers.
        Take a look by clicking to the National Catholic Reporter page. There's a story on the page, but also a video clip of Tom's remarks embedded in the middle of the story. If your connection is speedy enough, the clip should play immediately and you'll hear Tom's remarks for yourself.
        Word of Warning to Church Leaders in the Future: Be aware of who's videotaping you! The whole world might wind up watching!

AT THIS POINT, you're reading the Gumbleton story "backward" chronologically, starting with the most recent updates (above). IF you care to "catch up" on all the coverage -- you can jump immediately to our ORIGINAL January 19 story on the Gumbleton dispute, click here to read that earlier article. AND, then, on January 21, we published this second installment in the story.

Just a couple of days ago, we wrote a Spirit Scholars article about the forces who were supporting Detroit Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Tom Gumbleton's plea to remain in Detroit as the pastor at St. Leo's. From a Spirit Scholars perspective, we were struck by the sophisticated use of YouTube to plead Tom's case -- and we were impressed by the technical proficiency of his supporters in producing a top-notch, 5-minute, video overview of their campaign. (If you missed that earlier story, Click here to read it now.)

Well, things move very rapidly in this new 24-7 world of instant communication. Detroit Cardinal Adam Maida, apparently seeing the need to quickly pull the pastoral plug on this growing campaign, delivered the word to Tom on Saturday that today (Sunday) would be his final chance to celebrate Mass as the Pastor of St. Leo's.

Tom sent out some Saturday-night Emails to friends expressing that it finally was time for him to move on from St. Leo's. He expressed no bitterness -- just the news. However, his personal plea was that he wanted no media coverage of his last Mass as pastor. He prefered to keep it a fairly private event for his own pastoral reasons.

Meanwhile, what Tom's supporters had Started online, the cardinal's office Finished online -- and that's what we regard as the newsy innovation worth pointing out here at Spirit Scholars. Just as Tom's supporters had fired their shot via YouTube, the Archdiocese of Detroit also loaded up its online cannons (which they possess in addition to their powerful Canons) -- and the archdiocesan staff had a two-page letter by Cardinal Maida as well as a one-page Biography of Tom posted on the archdiocesan Web site in time for anyone to read, especially folks who might be processing the news over the weekend.

They were fast and they were clear on the Cardinal's "take" on this controversial move. Click here if you'd like to read the whole thing for yourself in a PDF file. The Cardinal's letter said, in part:

"The time has come for a transition in pastoral leadership at St. Leo Parish. For the last 23 years, Bishop Gumbleton has faithfully served your community and shared your joys and sorrows, challenges, hopes and dreams through Sunday Eucharist, works of Christian service, and reflecting on the Gospel of Life in today's society. I know how much you have valued his service and availability, and appreciated his witness to the Gospel. As Bishop Gumbleton now reaches the age of 77, it is now appropriate for him to retire from pastoral leadership of a parish."

The cardinal then explained the Canon Law concerning this move. And he further explained: "Like all our retired auxiliaries, Bishop Gumbleton will still function as a priest and bishop, celebrating the sacraments, including Confirmation, throughout the parishes of the Archdiocese as need arises and his health and schedule permit."

A new pastor is on the way, the Cardinal said: "Effective tomorrow, January 22, Father Gerard Battersby is being appointed administrator of your parish in addition to his ministry at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. ... The Detroit Jesuit community will also be supportive of Father Battersby as administrator, providing sacramental ministry as requested."

We're not commenting here on the wisdom of these moves -- but we are pointing out to religious leaders with fewer online resources that they might want to look into such strategies soon. Tough pastoral decisions, it seems, are heading into the public glare of the Web.

An Innovative Media Strategy Pops Up in an Old Struggle Over Church Authority

As anyone who cares about Catholic churches in metro Detroit already knows: Detroit Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton's obligatory letter of retirement to the Vatican was accepted by Vatican officials. Then, beyond that step into senior status as a bishop, he also has been ordered to leave his longtime parish, St. Leo's. Gumbleton, now 75, is famous (some of his critics like to say "infamous") all around the world for his work on behalf of peace and advocacy for the poor and marginalized.

On balance, for those of us who have watched Tom's work closely over the past couple of decades, he holds remarkably close to Jesus' teachings about defending the poor and marginalized. Even more politically conservative Catholic bishops, who have tangled with Tom over the years, have admitted more than once that Tom is a deeply committed voice of conscience within the church. Or, let's put it very simply: He's about as close to a modern-day Prophet as the City of Detroit can boast these days.

But, in the overall planning to downsize the Archdiocese of Detroit -- mainly due to outward migration of Catholics into the suburbs and to a dire shortage of priests -- many parishes have been asked to cluster and share priests. Some parishes have been asked to close entirely.

St. Leo's is slated to be clustered and supervised by a priest other than Gumbleton. He asked for approval to remain at St. Leo's, but he was told that he has to leave. Period. He has not announced a departure date, but presumably he won't be living there by the end of 2007.

That's the basic story and it's not really news to anyone who has been following Detroit church news over the past month or so.

Here's what is NEWS in a Spirit Scholars way: Today, one of the innovative strategies Tom and his parishioners are pursuing surfaced in an Email from one of Tom's many supporters across Metro Detroit.

It seems that we truly are in an era of easy-to-produce, high-quality video! Someone has produced what they hope will be a very persuasive, 5-minute video appealing for Tom to remain at St. Leo's. As longtime aficionados of cinema, we can tell you: It's about as good as this kind of short, advocacy film can get.

And -- guess what? -- this new film was brought to all of us online courtesy of the now-omnipresent power of YouTube.  (Click here to read our earlier Spirit Scholars story on YouTube -- and we've talked more about the spiritual importance of YouTube in our Crowdsourcing series, too, if you're curious to read more.)

If you've got a pretty healthy Internet connection and want to click over to the YouTube-powered page -- and actually watch the film -- then, please click on this link. (Those of you with slower-speed connections might want to think twice about clicking on that -- because the video could load slowly on your computer.)

If you do see the video -- It's really a fascinating development, we think. The video features what looks like professional-quality interview footage of a number of St. Leo's parishioners, plus Tom himself. The 5-minute movie ends with stark white type on several black screens.

Screen No. 1 reads: Bishop Gumbleton's request to continue ministry at St. Leo's after retirement has been denied by the Vatican.

Screen No. 2 reads: This is a direct result of his Christ-like advocacy for the poor, victims of clergy sexual abuse, women in the church, gays and lesbians, and anti-war efforts that is often at odds with current church leadership.

Then, the final Screen says: To support Bishop Gumbleton, the future of St. Leo's and efforts for a just Church, please visit (and there's another Web link provided where people can "join up" and donate money).

One intriguing aspect of this campaign is that Tom Gumbleton himself -- in any public statements he has made to the media -- pointedly denies the text of Screen No. 2. Tom does NOT say publicly that he has been punished -- although he DOES say that he wishes he could have remained at St. Leo's. So, it's a multi-dimensional strategy being deployed here. Tom doesn't complain about being punished -- but his followers (thanks to YouTube) are making that argument for him.
However you might feel about Tom or St. Leo's or the Catholic leadership -- that's beside the point in our consideration here. This is a cultural milestone in the church's advancement toward -- well, toward what we've often called Crowdsourcing here at Spirit Scholars.

And for members of any denomination, this is a fascinating development in the perennial struggle over church authority. It's a development that, if we ponder its broad implications, is likely to send cold chills down the spines of bishops and church superintendents nationwide who could find future disputes with pastors spilling out into a new realm of combat far larger than anything they've  encountered before.  

A Warning from Villanova: Stewardship Includes Watching the Flow of Money

Lost in the holiday hoopla was a stern warning from researchers at Villanova University, working out of the university's accounting department and from its Center for the Study of Church Management.

Bottom Line: Watch the flow of money!

Anyone in religious leadership knows that embezzlement is a perennial problem in nonprofit groups and, over a cup of coffee, we all can swap war stories (or reports we've read in the media over the years) about highly trusted men and women swiping money from the till -- sometimes to such an alarming degree that the crimes burst into the national media.

What Villanova found in examining one particular denomination -- the Catholic church -- is that 85 percent of dioceses reported problems with this crime in the past five years alone. And 11 percent of dioceses reported thefts larger than a half million dollars.

Had Villanova checked any other nationwide denomination, the results probably would have been identical -- so this is a great start-of-the-year reminder to Be Careful Out There.

If you missed the report, here are some links to read about it -- and, courtesy of the New York Times web site there's actually a link to a PDF of the Villanova summary.

FIRST, here's the National Catholic Reporter's coverage of the story, by Joe Feuerherd, which appeared just before Christmas. Click here to read NCR's coverage.

Catholic News Service also covered the issue around that time. Click here to read that report, carried by the Catholic Online site.

Then, today, Laurie Goodstein and Stephanie Strom weighed in from the New York Times with another report on the topic. Click here to jump to the Times site (you may need to create a free log-in to view Times stories).

Better yet, the Times has posted a PDF of the entire 14-page Villanova summary. Cutting to the chase in this fairly technical and Catholic-specific report, you might want to look at page 11 of the report. That's a list of recommendations. Chief among them is the suggestion, in this age of computer networking, that religious organizations standardize their accounting software. That could allow regional supervisors to take a quicker and easier look at local accounting practices.

Click here to jump to the PDF of the report on the Times site -- but Word of Warning -- this is a fairly large file, so make sure you've got a speedy computer connection (or you're prepared to wait for it to load up).

Is this kind of report really "news"? Actually, it's more of a perennial concern we all know we should examine from time to time. But, as we start a new year, it's not a bad idea to take a fresh look at all the hands involved in our cash flow.

Exploring a Religious Goldmine, but Watch Out: You May Get Lost in this Maze of Data

We've found a Gold Mine -- tons of fascinating data about religious life in America, courtesy of the fine professionals at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, part of the Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.

The Web site is the pet project of Dr. Scott Thumma, one of the longtime Hartford scholars, who you can read about by clicking on his Bio page within the larger site.

Basically, if you're a religious professional, or a scholar studying religion, or a writer wading into these exceedingly deep waters, Scott has organized some wonderful links here. Word of Warning: Once you get started on Scott's site, you'd better set an alarm for yourself, because you're likely to spend a whole lot of time.

Also, Scott's is the first one to admit that this whole vast web site that he has created is a Work in Progress. For example, if you click into the section on Mega-Churches -- we know and Scott knows -- that there are flaws in this section of his site. A lot of big, independent churches are virtually kingdoms unto themselves and getting them to report data consistently and accurately is a huge challenge for scholars and writers. But the Hartford list is impressively broad and detailed, despite occasional gaps and flaws.

Taken as a whole, this site is a wonderful offering to all of us, arranged clearly and logically for quick reference.

The main portal is at hirr.hartsem.edu Or, Click here to jump there immediately (but, please, if you're leaving us at this point, do remember to come back and visit Spirit Scholars regularly).

One fascinating example is the first link on the site: Facts on Church Growth. Click here to check out that page. In addition to suggestions that are fairly obvious, Hartford has some intriguing findings here. For instance: "Congregations located in new suburbs are more likely to experience growth. But surprisingly the second best area for growth is the downtown of metropolitan areas."

Or how about this one: "While most congregations in America are composed of a single racial/ethnic group, those that are multi-racial are most likely to have experienced strong growth in worship attendance."

Frankly, though, most of us are likely to get hooked by the data on Hartford's Fast Facts about American Religion section. One of the true gems in this portion of the Web site is Hartford's data on "how much pastors are paid" nationally. Curious? Don't be bashful. Click here to take a look.

You'll have to dig around a little bit on this enormous site to find the niches that interest you most -- and, we'll bet that, if you're a regular at Spirit Scholars, you're going to find yourselves hooked on Hartford's site almost immediately. For example, clicking on the basic link to "Congregational" information isn't all that exciting. But, once you dig around and discover the sub-page of "Article" links -- you'll be lost for quite a while.

Now, remember, that there are flaws and limitations in the site -- and it's constantly undergoing updates. For example, click on the Article link to the issue of "interfaith relations" and you'll find that much of the material here is pre-Nine-Eleven information. That's not too helpful at the moment -- five years after such a culturally cataclysic event. Nevertheless, overall, this is a fasincating collection of stuff to consider.

We especially appreciate the alphabetical links to Official Denominational Web Sites. Click here to check it out. Yes, you can find a broken link or two on the page -- but we're not aware of too many other places online where such an in-depth, well-organized list of these key links can be found.

One of the real treasure troves on the site is the portal to Sociology of Religion. Click here to check out that page. If you're a scholar or writer focusing on this general field, you've either found this site already -- or you'll have it Bookmarked as soon as you take a look.

So, overall -- a Huge Salute to Dr. Scott Thumma, a true Spirit Scholar. If you've got thoughts about Hartford's site, you can leave a Comment here, or there are various places on Hartford's own site to express yourself (especially through their Contact Us page) -- or drop us an email to share your thoughts.

VISION 04: In which we consider a Timeless Spiritual Lesson about Time Itself from Charles Dickens, Pope Benedict and some old photos

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.”
(from Psalm 90)

“Ghost of the Future!” Scrooge exclaimed to the Final Spirit, “I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But, as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?”
(from Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”)

We’ll close this series of VISION-starters in the rapidly dwindling days of 2006 with the spiritual secret that Charles Dickens reveals only in the final chapter of his “Carol,” called “Chapter 5: The End of It.”

The secret? The peak of spiritual mindfulness involves not only trying to clearly discern the misty Future – but in mindfully sifting through Past, Present and Future as we pass through each moment.

This concept came back to us this week, like a thunderclap, in the convergence of several year-end projects involving Your Humble Editor here at Spirit Scholars. Mainly, this spiritual reminder involved the assembly of a historical photo album, reflecting a maternal branch of our family.

It’s an especially sturdy branch of our tree, in fact, and  seems to represent a substantial portion of the strong spiritual pull of our particular clan. The thirst for meaning in life, in our clan, remains as strong and fresh throughout our lives as – as – Well, as strong a thirst as we spotted from the late 1920s of a beloved uncle, now far into retirement, as the ringleader of three boys in the family garden outside Howe, Indiana.

In the Moment captured on film, it is late summer and these boys couldn’t wait to taste the succulent melons growing on the family's vines, so they hunkered down in the melon patch and my uncle was captured in a snapshot using his knee to break open one of the small, sweet melons – juice drizzling all around.

As we sifted through these long-ago images, some of them more than 100 years old and most of them 60 to 70 years old, we became fascinated with subtle details in these people’s lives: the cut of their clothes, the sturdy and roomy architecture of their homes and barns, the objects they held in photos – from boat oars to immense brass horns from a high-school band, to the melon bursting with juice.

Was this a spiritual pursuit? It felt like one -- but we wondered.

Then came Pope Benedict XVI’s message to an international congress in Rome on the future of museums around the world, held to mark the fifth centenary of the Vatican Museums. The pontiff said, in part, that museums are “a place for artistic meditation, links between the past, the present and the future, a crossroads for men and women from different continents, and research laboratories and centers for cultural and spiritual enrichment.”

At their best, the pope said, pondering artifacts of the past can provide “an eloquent testimony of the close and constant bond between the divine and the human in the life and history of peoples.”

If that weren’t enough inspiration, we also found ourselves paying a first-ever visit to the marvelous Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, touring the fascinating exhibits there with an old friend, Eide Alawan, a Lebanese-American Muslim from a family whose roots go back nearly as long as my own in this country. Eide has emerged as one of the most influential faces and voices of Islam in Michigan, a man who devotes himself tirelessly to bridge building between religious communities.

While touring the exhibits, we turned a corner into a hall honoring Arab-American veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces – and standing there almost as tall as in real life was a black-and-white photo of Eide’s brother, Chuck Alawan, a long-time bridge builder in metro Detroit especially throughout the 1980s. There was Chuck in the photo with dark hair as a young man, looking proud, capable and ready for a bright future in his U.S. Army uniform.

In that moment, it became clear, once again, that true spiritual mindfulness isn’t focused in a single direction. It’s a 360-degree reflection on our lives, using all our senses and spiritual powers to examine This Moment in light of All That Has Brought Us Here – and, in that light, The Next Step We Will Take.

As I completed my own family photo album this week, I wound up writing an essay for my large extended clan – and our family and friends – about what this particular branch of my own family tree has meant for so many.
Here’s an excerpt of that essay:

“The family of John and Mabel Yunker lived in northern Indiana near the small town of Howe. They blended a Swiss-American immigrant family with a strong work ethic and commitment to education (the Yunker clan) with a well-to-do farming family that had lived in the Midwest for many more years (the Kelly clan).
“Both families shared a deep Protestant faith. John and Mabel were well educated and passed a passion for education along to their children, who wound up moving in many directions: Bob became a Methodist pastor, Gwen a teacher, Marge a musician and the busy wife of a local Howe merchant, Helen moved to Texas and even Japan with her husband Warner Gillis, Jean wound up as president of the local bank and little Barbara became a Methodist pastor's wife and moved from the East Coast to various towns across southeast Michigan.
“These brothers and sisters passed along their family's core belief that each life has a purpose -- and discovering that purpose is what gives life its meaning. That legacy proved both a nagging curse and an enormous blessing. What are we meant to do? How are we meant to live? The pursuit of those questions produced further waves of pastors, farmers, teachers, health-care professionals, executives, writers, scholars and, in many cases, people of strong faith.
“Looking back at the early images of this remarkable clan, that sense of purpose and even the creative playfulness that accompanies innovation can be spotted in details large and small from the cut of their clothes to the things these people chose to carry with them.
“No one can choose their predecessors and sometimes our ancestors in this family conveyed pressures that were tough to face. But, all in all, this is an amazing family tree -- and, in this collection of photos, we explore just a couple of branches within its vast crown of leaves!”

Actually, we'll sum this up as Charles Dickens did himself, placing the words in the mouth of Ebenezer Scrooge as old Scrooge scrambles eagerly out of his bed in Chapter 5 of the tale on that bright and glorious Christmas morning. The man is simply thrilled to be alive and he’s joyous over his chance at a whole new direction in life.

He’s poised happily in the midst of his first 360-degree moment of mindfulness – and it’s so glorious to behold that this tale survives in lively, creative forms 163 years after Dickens originally published it.

And so, in "The End of It," Scrooge proclaims: “I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future! The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. Oh, Heaven and the Christmas Time be praised for this! I say it on my knees! On my knees!”

From Spirit Scholars, we can only add: Have a Happy and a MINDFUL New Year!

VISION 03: A Path to Happiness Lit by the Glow of Compassion

It's time to quit whining here at Spirit Scholars! Half-way through our 4-part, End-of-the-Year series of VISION-Starters, it's time for us to make like Ebenezer Scrooge, halfway through "A Christmas Carol," and stop grumbling about the confusing Spirits hovering around us. Just like Scrooge, somewhere around the scene in which he glimpses his old boss Fezziwig's generosity at the holidays, it's time for us to make a sharp turn in our thinking. It's time to zero in on strategies for setting things right in our world.

Today's VISION-Starter No. 3 may seem like a truism, not even worth mentioning, to many or our readers. But remember that Boston University's Stephen Prothero -- in his upcoming book about religious literacy -- reports that more than half of his incoming Religious Studies students each year can't identify "The Golden Rule" in his opening quiz. (Click here to read more about Prothero's work.)

Comassion is spiritual bedrock in most of our traditions. In Christianity, it's so basic that most of our readers can recite such teachings by heart. But it's far broader than any one faith. In Buddhism, for instance, it's the cohesive principle that connects a disciple's ever-growing Clarity of Vision to the fabric of life in the Real World. The venerable Eightfold Path is all about recognizing that the abandonment of human desire is directly related to the blossoming of compassion.

SO, HERE is a whole collection of mini-VISION-Starters -- all examples of compassion either blossoming -- or going tragically awry -- to spur our meditation on where we hope to find ourselves in 2007:

FIRST, Speaking of Scrooge, let's not deceive ourselves into thinking that, hey, everybody's naturally compassionate. No, the truth is that there are a LOTof un-reconstructed Scrooges out there. Did you catch the Christmas Eve edition of the New York Times Business section? Check out the piece by Gretchen Morgenson, headlined "A Lump of Coal Might Suffice." She reported on the stunning severance package that ousted Pfizer CEO Hank McKinnell hauled away with him -- one fifth of a Billion dollars ($200 million in all, Morgenson reported)! She wrote that his immense settlement "is even more disturbing when put next to the roughly $137 billion in market value that vaporized on his watch. That Mr. McKinnell forced his shareholders to pay $305,644 for his unused days off after draining them of $137 billion is downright stupefying." We ask: Where are those Ghosts when a real-life Scrooge needs to be scared out of his wits?

THEN: How about a movie this weekend? Check out "The Good Shepherd," a deeply thought-provoking experience at nearly 3 hours filled with haunting scenes orchestrated by director Robert DeNiro. It's the tale of Edward Wilson (played by Matt Damon), an idealistic Yale graduate who wants to help the world (or at least the American portion of it). He joins the World War II OSS, seeking out Nazi agents in the midst of the Blitz of Britain, and continues into the post-war agency that eventually  becomes the CIA. Really, the movie is a cautionary tale of America's best aspirations going sadly awry, at times. The young man starts out nobly proud of his country and burning with compassion for the Americans he claims to want to safeguard. And by the end of the film? Well, the prices Mr. Wilson pays by the closing credits are heartbreaking. The key question raised in the film is this: Where do our boundaries lie when we seek to help the people around us?

WELL, speaking of boundaries, let's switch to a truly prophetic Boundary Crosser: Evangelical writer and teacher Tony Campolo. In case you missed it in the holiday crush, Campolo released a brand-new book this month, called simply: "Letters to a Young Evangelical." Trust us on this one: For Protestant clergy and teachers, this is a Must Buy book that we all should savor and, then, keep on our office shelves to pass along to someone else. Campolo continues along the trajectory that many people have called "prophetic" (and some have called "outspoken" and some have called "heretical," to be honest). He's a unique voice, at the moment, using his accumulated authority to call for -- yes, you guessed it: Compassion. What makes his book so unusual is that he addresses topics, such as sexual orientation, that other compassionate evangelicals still fear to address.

BUT, Wait a Minute! We've focused on the Famous so far -- and the whole idea of compassion is that we ALL need to express this in our ordinary, everyday lives. That's why it is so COOL to read that the giant Beliefnet online magazine awarded its "Most Inpsiring Person of the Year" prize to the Amish of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. This community showed amazing spiritual resources -- and compassion -- in the face of heartbreaking tragedy this year. (Click here to read Spirit Scholars' earlier Amish story, which explains part of their remarkable religious response.)  (OR: Click here to jump to Beliefnet and read their more in-depth coverage of the Amish -- and about other nominees for Beliefnet's Most Inspiring prize, too.)

Compassion is woven into the fabric of many religious communities. This weekend, Muslims are celebrating the Hajj (the pilgrimage season) with the Eid Al-Adha holiday, known in English as the Feast of the Sacrifice. The ancient story that's recalled on this occasion is Abraham's willingness to obey God and sacrifice his son -- his son Ishmael in the Muslim version of the story. That was the crucial moment in our shared tradition when Abraham learned a major lesson about God's compassion and, of course, his son was spared from any evil that day. To this day, Muslim families in many parts of the world still mark the holiday by symbolically sacrificing a sheep, then distributing meat to family, friends and needy neighbors. The idea is to remember the ancient story with an eye to compassionately meeting the needs of the entire community. In the United States, Muslim families also plan holiday meals for themselves, while making some charitable provision to help hungry families, as well.

Finally, here's a high-tech idea that's fresh from Washington D.C. The Holocaust Memorial Museum is launching a creative effort to weave compassionate concerns into a bi-weekly Podcast on the dangers of hatred and specifically anti-semitism. This is a most timely offering in an era when a world leader as prominent as Iran's president thinks its a savvy political move to stage a global conference of Holocaust deniers. The new Washington-based Podcast series debuted with Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg discussing her own experiences with anti-semitism as well as her thoughts on free speech and Holocaust denial. (Click here to jump to the Holocaust Museum's site and check out the Podcasts.) (Or, Click here to read some of our Spirit Scholars coverage of the Iranian conference.)

SURELY, these are enough images of Compassion to get us thinking, right? If you've got thoughts to share, leave a Comment here -- or drop us an email, if you prefer, by clicking here.

And STAY TUNED -- There's one more Spirit in this tale, a fourth VISION-starter looming on Friday.

Two Programs Examine Mary's Power to Change with Time and Place

NOW, this is something truly amazing: She's the world's most famous woman and yet no one really knows what she looks like!

That's a stunning fact, especially in this moment in history when image is everything! We think that somewhere in this realization lies the feminist reappraisal of Mary that tries to reclaim her from the northern-European-pale, fragile-as-porcelain imagery in sky-blue drapery that many artists have chosen for this most daring of young women. (The next image at left is typical of that style.)

The evangelical author Scot McKnight poses pretty much this argument in his new book, "The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus." (Paraclete Press) In the book, McKnight says that he is struck by the latter portion of the Magnificat in which Mary issues what amounts to a bold-as-steel affirmation of God's ultimate social justice. McKnight argues that musical settings for the Magnificat ought to be equally bold -- even foot stomping -- like "We Shall Overcome" or "We Shall Not Be Moved" from the civil rights movement.

TO HELP US ALL REFLECT on this idea of Mary's evolving look and significance, there are TWO Major Events on the horizon: One "live" in Detroit and the other one via the PBS network nationally.

The first was organized by the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit. It's a free program that's open to the general public (and -- psst! -- they're even serving refreshments before the program). It's called “A Conversation on Mary” and will feature scholars discussing Mary's significance to different theological traditions. It's at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 12. (The seminary is at 2930 Woodward Avenue in what once was Detroit's First Presbyterian Church for those folks more familiar with the old landmarks in the city. There's free, secure parking close to the building. To make reservations or to get directions, contact Judy Holmes at 313-831-5200, ext. 209.)

Here are three reasons that this program is really cool!

First, it's happening because of something a seminary staffer read right here in Spirit Scholars: an earlier article about Mary, stressing that Mary is revered by both Christians and Muslims. "I kept thinking about that point and talked with people at the seminary and -- this program is the result," said Dennis Archambault, a local freelance writer and communicator who works part-time for the seminary.

Second, as far as we've heard across the state of Michigan, this is the one public opportunity to hear Protestant, Catholic and Muslim perspectives on Mary all in one place.

Third, the seminary lined up three women as the panelists, which seems to us an obviously wise choice -- and, yet, it's rarely the case in public discourse about Mary. Often, the scholars are predominantly male. At the seminary, the three scholars scheduled are: Dr. Anneliese Sinnott, O.P., who is the seminary's Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean; the Rev. Dr. Annemarie Kidder, Associate Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, PC (USA), Ann Arbor, and seminary faculty member; and Dr. Fatima Al-Hayani, a faculty member of University of Toledo.

Of course, the seminary's new president, Dr. Marsha Foster Boyd, is a pioneering woman herself in seminary leadership. About the program she is hosting, Foster Boyd said, "What a wonderful opportunity to reflect together across theological and religious traditions about the significance of this girl, her community, her context, and her role in religious history. Who was Mary, and how was she shaped by her faith and her environment? How does her response to a seemingly impossible situation serve to inspire and challenge our witness to the power of God and our own responses when faced with the opportunity to give birth to new possibilities in our own lives?”

(There will be one man on hand that evening. David Crumm, religion writer for the Detroit Free Press and editor of the online journal Spirit Scholars, will serve as facilitator for the discussion.)

BUT THAT's NOT ALL: And, for the second major event, we all should set our video recorders, because we'll want to save this documentary and watch it more than once: "Picturing Mary," produced by WNET for PBS nationally. PLEASE NOTE: We've posted the Detroit PBS air date in our Spirit Scholars calendar (in the upper left corner of this Web site) as 9 p.m. on December 20, but the schedule varies from one PBS affiliate to another across the U.S.

This wonderful documentary, which we've already previewed, is perfect for high school and college students studying humanities, art history or the sociology of religion. Plus, it's simply entertaining to watch! In just under one hour, the program skips across Europe, the Middle East and even into northern Africa, examining the cultural and, in many cases, the powerful societal needs behind each new image of Mary that emerges through the centuries.

We spoke with writer James Clifton, who scripted the program, and he said he'd love to expand the program someday across Asia, Latin America and other regions, but the one-hour production was a fascinating way to make this basic point that changes in Mary's imagery often are signals of changing cultural and social realities.

We asked Clifton the question: Were you surprised to discover how often, and how dramatically, people in each time and venue felt free to adapt her image and her meaning?

He responded: "We traced a similar phenomenon in images of Jesus in the earlier film, 'The Face: Jesus in Art.' Because the Gospel texts are so laconic in narrating the lives of even the most important people – especially Mary, about whose life we have very little direct information – readers have tended to elaborate those narratives in ways that can vary from culture to culture and from person to person. 

"Similarly, Scripture provides few descriptive details about places, as well, so artists have had to provide visual information that is not in the text.  They have done this based on artistic conventions, their imagination, theological imperatives, and so on.

"In the history of art, concern for historical or archaeological accuracy is relatively rare. Artists have been much more concerned with making their subject meaningful to their viewers, and this can be done by adapting the subject to the specific culture in which the artwork is made, even by giving Mary, for example, the appearance of someone from the artist’s culture rather than her own. 

"In the late Middle Ages and following, devotional texts urged the readers to imagine themselves present at the events narrated in the Scriptures and even to imagine that those events had taken place where they lived.  Artists assist the viewer in making the narratives present and immediate. 

"For many people, if Mary is to be meaningful to them as their intercessor, guide, example, mother, and so on, she must be in some sense like them, but better – an ideal version of them.  For that reason, she must look like them.  Historically, Mary belonged to a specific time and place, but theologically and devotionally, she belongs to all times and all places, and her appearance can change accordingly."

Amazing, really! So, if you're reading this in Michigan, mark your calendars for December 12th -- and, wherever you live, look for this PBS gem, coming our way just in time for Christmas.

Please -- Tell us what you think about these ideas. Add a Comment here, or shoot us off a quick email by clicking here.