[Oe List ...] A True Easter Sermon from Denise Long

[Janice Ulangca]

Herman Greene and all,

I passed along the Palm Sunday sermon from Denise Cumbee Long to a number of people.  Several responded with thanks.  The note below came from a bright and caring retired UM pastor and district superintendent (served in Wisconsin).  He and his wife were good friends in Cornell College (Mount Vernon, Iowa) but I hadn't seen them for several years when we spent time together in 2006 at the 50th anniversary of our graduation.  

The reason I share this is the eloquence with which Norm Stephenson talks about what this theology means to him.  I look forward to sharing with him the Living the Questions materials, Crossan, Borg, Spong, etc.  There really is a theological revolution going on among Christians and beyond.  When we see the need for going beyond ecumenical to interfaith for seriously tackling what needs to happen - then we need to look at Rabbi Michael Lerner and the Network of Spiritual Progressives.   

Those of us lucky enough to bump into RS-1 in the 60s and early 70s have had for all these years a more adequate theological framework than many - though atonement theology wasn't addressed (or attacked) specifically that I can remember.  The Academy and many other learning opportunities deepened the insights.  I appreciate the fact that Ecumenical Institute training was not only aimed at clergy!  We lay folks were expected to step up to theological sophistication and real commitment.   Replacing controlling, fearful theology with more thoughtful, more "the way life is" theology is a great gift.  Beyond the damage done by stirring up fake or trivial personal guilt (Jesus died because I lost my temper?!), this substitutionary atonement ignores the real systemic guilt of our current empire - and our personal failures to get involved in justice.

Blessed Easter to you all,
Janice Ulangca


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Norman Stephenson 
To: Janice Ulangca 
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 11:59 PM
Subject: Re: A fine sermon for Holy Week


Hi Jan,

What a wonderful Holy Week/Good Friday gift I/we received from you today!

I have to wonder if at sometime I revealed to you that the most pervasive theological question throughout my adult life (which also means during the whole of my ministry) has been the "standard" belief in the substitutionary atonement theory/belief of Jesus' death on the cross.  You can understand why so often I felt like a phony during the Lenten run up to Easter!  This struggle has not been any fun!!

Today I received your forwarded copy of the sermon by Pastor Denise Cumbee Long.  As I read it, it was as if a locked, bolted, and shuttered window had been thrown open and a refreshing (healing?) wind (sounds like the Holy Spirit) blew in.  With it came powerful insights which had my soul saying WOW more than once. A helpful byproduct of the sermon is the prompting to read more of the authors she cites.

In any event, many thanks for thinking of us as you forwarded the sermon.  Jan says hi.  If for no other reason, she is happy to observe the diminishing of my "theological frown", too often present following a Holy Week service, including the one we attended last night.

We send our love from Tucson, AZ.  Our weather has been wonderful, in contrast to much which has been reported from the northern states.  We begin our trek home on April 8th, with stops along the way to visit family and friends.

Again, many thanks for thinking of us.

Norm   

Janice Ulangca <aulangca at stny.rr.com> wrote:
  Good Friday, 2008

  Friends,
  This may be especially meaningful for those who struggle with "Jesus died for my (our) sins."  It comes from a colleague in Chapel Hill, NC who is part of Binkley Baptist Church.  He occasionally passes on sermons from his minister, and says of her:
  She is the interim minister at my church. I wish she would be the permanent minister but that is not to be. Prior to serving as our interim minister she worked in farm worker ministries with the North Carolina Council of Churches. Her undergraduate degree is in literature and it shows. She has a law degree as well as a divinity degree. Her husband is a UCC minister and serves a church in Raleigh, NC.
   
  Blessed Easter.

  Janice


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Herman Greene 
  To: 'Order Ecumenical Community' 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 7:49 AM
  Subject: [Oe List ...] A True Easter Sermon from Denise Long


   
   

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  From: Maureen Rosen [mailto:office at binkleychurch.org] 
  Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 8:48 AM
  To: 'Maureen Rosen'
  Subject: Yesterday's Binkley Sermon
   
  Good Morning!  Denise's sermon from yesterday, Palm Sunday, is attached.  Thanks!
   
  Maureen Rosen, Office Manager
  Binkley Baptist Church
  1712 Willow Drive
  Chapel Hill NC 27514
  919-942-4964
  office at binkleychurch.org
   
   
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