Quotes and Excerpts from

The World Network of Religious Futurists

http://www.wnrf.org

Skip down to Jay Gary  [See also The call to global oneness]


World Network of Religious Futurists WNRF: "The World Network of Religious Futurists (WNRF) is a team led professional society, advancing scholarship into the future of religion. Here is our present leadership council.... Dr. Rabbi Moshe Dror.... Dr. Rev. Richard Kirby.... Aziz Nasir Chaudhry.... Barbara Gilles.... Janine Cahill.... Xin Zhang Xin.... Jay Gary, Senior Associate."

The Religious Left is Back (by Rabbi Michael Lerner): "...religious liberals across a wide swath of denominations are engaged today in their most intensive bout of political organizing and alliance-building.... Attendees were mostly Protestant and Unitarian, though there was a healthy selection of Catholics and Jews. She also reported encountering Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, WICA, and a large number of spiritual but not religious people who did not identify with any religion. ...

     "After prayers from a variety of different religious traditions, the conference erupted in enthusiasm as Catholic nun (and Benedictine Sister) Joan Chittister, my national co-chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, presented a compelling analysis of culture and spirituality, followed by Peter Gabel (associate editor of Tikkun, chair of the program on Spirituality an Politics at New College of California in San Francisco, and my collaborator...) who provided an engaging account of the spiritual psychodynamics of contemporary society....

    "Gabel was one of the many "spiritual but not religious" people who spoke at the conference and presented a perspective that spoke in a language that bridged the gap and showed how humanists could equally find a home in the Network of Spiritual Progressives along with progressive spiritual people. ...

    "The good news from Washington, D.C. is that... there is tremendous enthusiasm throughout this country for a new voice... and as God or the Spirit of the universe is trying to communicate, in this moment, 'we are IT.'...

      "...we had hundreds of individual or small group meetings on Capitol Hill with Senators and Members of Congress or sometimes their aides.... Suddenly Capitol Hill was aflame with discussion of a Spiritual Covenant with America.... Senator Obama was very much in sync with the approach of the Network of Spiritual Progressives....

     "I also led prayers for the healing of the brokenness and fear-driven consciousness of the people in the White House ...So we prayed that there would come to them a speedy healing, recognizing that as long as they held power that we very much need for them to recover from the demons that currently twist their consciousness into supporting hate-driven homophobia.....We are aware of the danger also that other groups... are also appearing on the scene, using the positive energies we've developed, but actually not really involved in any coherent struggle with the Religious Right for the heart and minds of America."

Note: The above article also mentioned leaders such as "Rev. Bill Sinkford, the national president of the Unitarian Universalist Association" and "America's most famous Islamic theologian Sayyed Hossein Nasr"and Bob Edgar the chair of the National Council of Churches of Christ.


Emergent Jewish & Christian Leaders to Meet: "Synagogue 3000 (S3K) and Emergent will host a groundbreaking meeting to connect pioneering Jewish and Christian leaders from dynamic and innovative congregations on January 16-17, 2006. ...emerging leaders from across America will share experiences and exchange ideas about reinventing the meaning and practice of community in their respective faith traditions, especially for unaffiliated Christians and Jews....

     "Prominent Emergent Christian theologian Brian McLaren has met with S3K three times to discuss recent trends among younger Christians and Jews. 'We have so much common ground on so many levels,' he noted. 'We face similar problems in the present, we have common hopes for the future, and we draw from shared resources in our heritage. I'm thrilled with the possibility of developing friendship and collaboration in ways that help God's dreams come true for our synagogues, churches, and world.' ...

     "...Emergent-U.S. National Coordinator Tony Jones [said]. "As emerging Christian leaders have been pushing through the polarities of left and right in an effort to find a new, third way, we've been desperate to find partners for that quest," he said. "It's with great joy and promise that we partner with the leaders of S3K to talk about the future and God's Kingdom." (Shawn Landres & Tony Jones, Jan 3, 2006)

 


MetaNexus to Host Science & Religion Conference: "Spiritual Capital: Global Perspectives on Economics and Religion, Saturday evening, June 3 [2006?]. This opening plenary session will explore the influences that religion and spirituality have on economic and societal realities—locally and globally.... This interdisciplinary forum will explore the economic and societal consequences of religion and spirituality as part of the emerging social science of 'spiritual capital.' Featured speakers include Theodore Malloch (the Roosevelt Group), Timur Kuran, (University of Southern California), and Robert Putnam (Harvard University; the author of Bowling Alone).

      "'We live at an extraordinary moment in the natural history of our planet and the cultural evolution of our species,' said William Grassie, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Metanexus Institute. 'The domains of science and the domains of religion, however understood, stand at the center of our hopes for a healthier and safer future. This is a moment for integrating the best of religion and the best of science in service of humanity and the world. This conference is an important opportunity to pursue this multifaceted, multidisciplinary, and multifaith challenge.'...

     "Metanexus Institute is an international organization based in Philadelphia that advances research, education, and outreach on the constructive engagement of science and religion through a variety of projects and opportunities for dialogue. Metanexus supports nearly 300 projects in 37 countries. The annual conference is, in part, a gathering of representatives of Metanexus’ Local Societies Initiative (LSI) members, who have established science-and-religion dialogues in their communities, networked with the global programs."


World Network of Religious Futurists WNRF: "The World Network of Religious Futurists (WNRF) is a team led professional society, advancing scholarship into the future of religion. Here is our present leadership council.... Dr. Rabbi Moshe Dror.... Dr. Rev. Richard Kirby.... Aziz Nasir Chaudhry.... Barbara Gilles.... Janine Cahill.... Xin Zhang Xin.... Jay Gary, Senior Associate.

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