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Riverside Church, NY |
| SPEAKING TO
POWER - a NOW with Bill Moyers special edition focuses on Riverside Church,
New York City [12-23-03]
SPEAKING TO POWER: A NOW with Bill Moyers
Special Edition Friday, December 26 at 9PM on PBS (Check local listings at
http://www.pbs.org/now/sched.html)
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SPEAKING TO POWER - a NOW with Bill Moyers
special edition
* From one of America's most historic
churches a resounding voice speaks to power. NOW profiles a unique Christian
vision.
Since the terrorist attacks of
September 11, leaders of America's religious right have filled the airwaves
with calls denouncing Islam as a religion, promoting a belligerent American
foreign policy, and advocating closer ties between church and state. To much
of the press and country, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and their
fundamentalist brethren are the face of American Christianity and their
drumbeat of Biblical literalism has become the most familiar refrain of the
Christian gospel.
But a different Christian voice is
challenging the monolith of the religious right and speaking to America and
its leaders in language reminiscent of the Hebrew prophets and on behalf of
a vision of social justice that many Christians trace to the teachings of
Jesus himself. That voice belongs to an African-American son of Pentecostal
parents who grew up in the segregated south and rose to occupy one of the
most preeminent pulpits in the country-the very church, as paradox would
have it, started by John D. Rockefeller Jr.
"Speaking to Power" traces Riverside's
theological roots and its history and architecture, revealing a church
dedicated to the revolutionary notion that science, learning, and faith can
co-exist happily under the same vaulted roof with a religiously diverse
congregation. Riverside's commitment to its ecumenical mission was
challenged when it hired Forbes to be its senior minister. Some church
members were uncomfortable with a man whose style mixed fervor and learning,
and they feared he would turn Riverside into a southern black church, or a
"holy roller" church.
Under Forbes' leadership, worship continues
unabated at Riverside. The services are packed and the 2400-member
congregation carries on active lay ministries throughout the city and the
world, from offering showers to the homeless every Monday morning to working
for social justice in Central America. Operating from a tradition that has
never fled from the conflicts of the time, Forbes' belief that religion does
not stand above politics but should speak to politics offers a Christian
view of public issues that is markedly different from the fundamentalist
dogmatists often seen on television. And when they speak of religion as a
polarizing force, Forbes sees a new theology of religion that strengthens,
rather than divides, democracy.
"The new reality is, that nobody in today's
world can be truly mature in their religion without making space for respect
for all of the other religious traditions," he tells Moyers. "There will be
no wholesale dismissing of every group other than my own Christian
tradition. This doesn't smell like the spirit of Christ."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOW WITH BILL MOYERS continues
online at PBS.org (www.pbs.org/now).
Log on to the site for a history of the progressive religious movement in
the United States; for a look at current religious efforts to influence
American public policy from the Christian right as well as the Christian
left; for a compendium of NOW's past coverage of faith issues; for a history
of the separation between church and state; for an explanation of
faith-based initiatives and the legislation behind them; for statistics on
where Americans put their faith; for a brief profile of Forbes and of the
Riverside church; and more.
Preview this program at
http://www.pbs.org/now/press/forbes_video_large.html
Thanks to
Harold Barton
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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Plan now for our 2010 Ghost Ranch
Seminar!
GHOST RANCH SEMINAR
July 26-August 1, 2010
WE’RE ALL IN
THIS TOGETHER
CONFRONTING THE STRUCTURES OF INJUSTICE |
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