[Oe List ...] Fwd: February witness--by David Zollars

[slottaglobalnews at earthlink.net]

All,



As Priscilla has said, we are learning so much about life and death  
from our friends and colleagues. I was moved to use the 'sorting'  
capability of our email system to locate David Zollars' witness from  
February of this year. It is offered here as a reflection of David's  
own insight into his life as a pioneer.

Grace and peace to all of us, and in particular at this time to David  
and to all those near and dear to him.



Jim (and Oliveann) Slotta in Denver



Begin forwarded message:

> From: <cdzoll at comcast.net>
> Date: February 6, 2008 11:40:12 AM MST
> To: "Earth Rise" <earthrise at yahoogroups.com>
> Cc: Myrdell Woodall Dybdal <quiltingMD at aol.com>, Will McGarvey <WillyMac4 at comcast.net 
> >, John Marcia Millar <c.john at mac.com>, Order Ecumenical Community <OE at wedgeblade.net 
> >, Jean Anne Feiler <jeanfeiler at hotmail.com>, Bob Jones <rvjones at sonic.net 
> >, DukeRob at aol.com, patricia a Bruno <purple115 at juno.com>, Alice  
> Collins <alicec8 at juno.com>, Kevin Buchanan <buchanan.kevin at sbcglobal.net 
> >, Jean Christman <Christman3 at aol.com>, Lois Zollars <lzollars at comcast.net 
> >, Ray Welles <Raywelles1 at mac.com>
> Subject: [Oe List ...] February witness
> Reply-To: Order Ecumenical Community  <oe at wedgeblade.net>
>
> I think I'm scheduled for next week, but we are planning a So.Cal  
> trip that might interfere. Lois has been dealing with "Why We  
> Come" (meaning to church) and when asked to preach recently I found  
> myself returning again to the HRN paper that we just used part of in  
> RS-1. The first two parts of the paper are why most people come, but  
> after briefly mentioning those 2 portions, I dug in again to the  
> "pioneer" aspect. I've never really thought of myself as a pioneer  
> although just going to that "weird" corporate community in that  
> ghetto in Chicago was pretty unusual. I remember also a few years  
> back writing an article for Monday Morning (Presbyterian minister's  
> publication) mentioning the Niebuhr paper as something most clergy  
> had probably never seen and offering to send same to anyone  
> requesting one. I think I received 180+ requests! Then this past  
> month Lois and I were part of the San Francisco presbytery  
> discussion and vote to ordain a blind, homosexual woman who has been  
> in the process of trying to become ordained for 23 years! (Think of  
> the man by the pool). We were successful (by a vote of 167-151) to  
> move the process along so that she could come before the Presbytery  
> for examination. That made me think of being a pioneer. And then I  
> thought back over my life and career and thought I've been part of  
> the recognition of women as clergy in the church, and part of the  
> acceptance of black leadership in this country and in the church (I  
> was in Jackson, Miss. in 1964) so I guess, indeed, my life has been  
> in the "pioneering" mode. I know most of my colleagues have long ago  
> relegated the church to the historical part of their life, but along  
> with the inspiration of Marcus Borg and Bishop John Shelby Spong, I  
> labor on. Both of them (Borg and Spong) will be in Santa Rosa at the  
> Jesus Seminar next month and I will be there cheering them on. God  
> speed to all who soldier on in the pioneering mode. David Zollars
>
> The Zollars family became aware of JWM and the Christian Faith &  
> Life Community back in '60-61 while David was still in seminary at  
> Union in NYC, vested the Evanston religious house in 1964, attended  
> a Pastor's conference with JWM in El Salvador in 1965, joined the  
> Order after summer '66 and stayed involved through 1973 when as  
> prior of the Sacramento House Lois' health and the "turn to the  
> world" caused them to make a new decision and return to the  
> pastorate. It wasn't really successful as most of the churches he  
> encountered didn't want to be "pioneers." He retired from the  
> ministry in about 1991.
> _______________________________________________
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