December 2024 Newsletter
- Robert van Mourik
- Dec 11, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 9
GREETINGS
Our December online meeting examined a discussion paper on The Abandonment of Religion. We considered the interrelationships between:
spirituality (a sense of who we are that gives meaning to our lives),
theology (a theoretical framework based on mythology, sacred scriptures and science that seeks to explain our spirituality), and
religion which should provide a supporting framework to bridge our understanding of spirituality and theology.
Our meeting also recognised that while Church attendances were declining, Christian action continued in many sectors of the community and that youth are more interested in action than liturgy.
Perhaps, Ilia Delio sums it up best in her latest book, The Not-Yet God: "We are living in a world never imagined by ancient scholars. We need to find a new way of thinking about God and humanity in evolution." (p 77). If our religious practices do not reflect our contemporary understanding of our world, then it is no wonder religion as we have known it is being abandoned.
OUR YEAR IN REVIEW
Our Butterfly series has grown in popularity this year with increasing numbers participating in our online meetings. This year we considered discussion papers on the following topics:
ON OUR WEBSITE
We launched our new website in early July enabling us to provide our material and new information much more widely than was possible through our newsletter alone. The site has attracted over 700 unique visitors on nearly 2000 occasions, primarily in Australia, but also the United States, New Zealand and countries in Europe.
Please share our newsletter and our website with anyone you know who may be interested. Our objective is to support those seeking spiritual growth through our website, newsletter, online meetings, Facebook group and the formation of small neighbourhood groups. You can subscribe to our newsletter and receive the latest information through the enrolment box at the foot of our website.
The About Us page on our website provides an excellent introduction to our community with an overview of our activities, our approach, our story and who we are.
Do you realise that our website has a very good search function? Enter key words into the search box in the menu bar and find articles and information stored in our archives. As we add new material this function will become increasingly useful.
Our website is constantly changing with new information. Bookmark our website in your browser and visit us to keep in touch.
The development of our community has been built so far on a Catholic/Christian foundation; however, we acknowledge religion is not the only path to spiritual growth. We welcome suitable material from other viewpoints, you can contact us through the website or by email.
JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT BUTTERFLY SERIES EVENT
The discussion paper will explore the impact of gratitude and gratefulness on spirituality.
NEW ON OUR WEBSITE
Look out for our Kindred Spirits & Podcasts as we find inspiration from others. We include links to their websites and podcasts. We can now list your neighbourhood group so that others can find you or be aware of you. If you would like to join the others listed here, please contact us!
Articles:
Letting Our Images Mature, a meditation from the Center for Action and Contemplation that challenges our ideas of God
The Point is to Grow, a meditation from the Center for Action and Contemplation, that addresses our need to learn from our life's experiences.
Book reviews:
Quest for the Living God by Elizabeth Johnson
Quantum Theology – Spiritual Implications of the New Physics by Diarmuid O’Murchu
Jesus and Buddha Parallel Sayings by Marcus Borg
Reflection:
Video:
Integral Spirituality for the 21st Century, a video by DIarmuid O'Murchu, that supplements the discussion paper on the Abandonment of Religion.
PARTICIPATING IN ST LUCIA SPIRITUALITY
We invite you to to share your experiences with our community. For example, you can share your ideas, books you are reading and questions you are asking by writing to us. You can also offer your comments on our Facebook page and engage in discussions. This is an important supplement to the information available on our website.
We invite you to get involved, have your say! Others may benefit from your experience.
FUNDRAISING
St Lucia Spirituality is dedicated to creating a positive impact through spiritual enlightenment. We have to spend funds to access the resources we provide you and the things we can’t do ourselves such as computer related stuff. We rely on the generosity of individuals like you to defray these inevitable costs of our volunteer work. Your donation will enable us to reach more people and make a difference in their lives.
We very much appreciate the donations we have already received.
PLEASE SAVE OUR NEW EMAIL
Please note our new email, stluciaspirituality@gmail.com, and save it in your safe senders list.
We welcome your feedback and invite you to share this with your friends.
Comments