"Only a free religion can be universal, and every other freedom is based on freedom of the mind. A true religion knows no barriers of nation, race or class, and no exclusions through a creed. Its unity is in its purpose; its covenant is brotherhood. As no man can be good enough to be the master of another, so no man can be wise enough to bind another in belief. Hence, we reject all orthodoxies and proclaim the Free and Universal Church." --A. Powell Davies (1902-1957)

Breaking the Shackles of Dependence

By Ian Lawton

Independence is written into my DNA. It’s a fire that can only be contained for so long. My grandmother steadfastly sat while all around her rose for the national anthem at school functions. She brought a new twist to the old adage “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” She stood for no one and fell for nothing. My parents have persistently stood for free thought in a church that preferred its members to sit quietly and toe the line. They instilled independence in their children, and the diversity of my siblings speaks to this freedom of thought.

Maybe independence is written into the psyche of most Australians. Aussies share a solid skepticism about external authority and institutional restraint.

There’s a famous story about a man who has an interview for immigration into Australia. The first question the interviewer asks him is, "Do you have a police record?" "What?" asks the man in disbelief. "Do you still need one to get in?"

It’s really no surprise that I have ended up leading an independent church, and it's no surprise that it’s in America. America, like Australia, broke the shackles of its colonizing parent, England. Nations move to independence at the point where their imagination becomes larger than their inherited tradition. It's much the same for individuals.

My experience of institutional religion is that, like colonizers, there are many shackles to break. If there are some who can break those shackles and thrive within a mainstream religious setting, then the world is a better place for it and I support them.

However, for me, the hypocrisy was too disillusioning and the dogmas too restricting. Five minutes after I was ordained as a Priest in the Anglican Church, the imprint of the Bishop’s hand still on my forehead, I was threatened with heresy charges for questioning a literal resurrection. I was told I could either stay and face the consequences or leave and find a new church. I’m pleased to say that I did leave and find an institutional church that was more open than most, but the fires of independence were still burning strongly within me. I needed more freedom than the institution could offer.

America, unlike Australia, was founded on progressive religious principles, such as free inquiry and the equality of all before the law. The current renewed interest in progressive religion is a return to many of the values of the founding fathers. Thomas Jefferson is a prime example of those founding values.

Jefferson was the principle author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He also authored the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom instituting the separation of church and state in Virginia in 1786. This bill began with a theological statement, "Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of restraint."

In 1820, Jefferson wrote his own version of the Gospels, cutting out the virgin birth, miracle stories and resurrection. He was drawn to the ethics of Jesus, but had no interest in the divinity of Jesus. He pursued a religion that was acceptable to scientific minds, and passionate about the cares and concerns of the world.

In a letter to Doctor Benjamin Waterhouse on June 26, 1822 Jefferson wrote,
“I rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and belief, which has surrendered its creed and conscience to neither kings nor priests, the genuine doctrine of one only God is reviving.”

He resisted any attempt for the State to put boundaries on what a person believed. The role of the State, in his mind, was to put boundaries only on the way people behave towards each other.

“The care of every man’s soul belongs to himself.” --Jefferson, Notes on Religion, 1776

Independence is written into the DNA of America. The separation of church and state is an attempt to protect the integrity of the State from being co-opted by any single religious perspective. It is also an attempt to protect the right of religion to critique any or all forms of government.

It’s a social contract, where neither the state nor religion has any divine rights. The people elect and remove government. Government has no divine mandate, like a monarchy claims to have. People create their own religion, open to the challenge of reason and justice, unlike a theocracy where religious perspective is imposed.

Independence is an American value. Of course, independence is only one side of a coin called interdependence. That is, the freedoms that come with independence also contain a responsibility to act in the widest interests possible. Independence is freedom to serve. Its not freedom to have your ego served.

So you can see that the C3/CCC community is a perfect match. Christ Community Church is a community, independent to its core. Its independence could only be constrained for so long, and since separating from the Reformed Church of America in 1997, it continues to thrive in ever-expanding freedom. We take the responsibilities of freedom very seriously. Our circle of interdependence extends to the entire world, human and non human. Our religion includes a growing list of perspectives, and our compassion extends to a global community of care.

Ours is a freedom to think, question, inquire and wonder. Each is free to fashion their own beliefs, challenged by the community to be always growing, more compassionate, justice-oriented, and inclusive.

Ours is a freedom to bring people of different faith and passion together, respecting but not limited by geography or culture.

As you will read below in greater detail, as a community we are glad to be on the cusp of making our final payment for independence. I encourage you to embrace our story and to consider how it relates to yours. Please consider supporting this independence campaign and sharing the excitement with us of achieving full independence. We inherit a bold tradition, and we continue to pay these blessings forward. We offer our independence now as a gift to the world.

Being Independent

Christ Community Church is an independent church supported solely by members and friends of the community and we need your help to secure our independence!

The decision to leave the Reformed Church of America (R.C.A.) came in 1997 when over 800 members of our community voted to continue the journey that Christ Community Church was on rather than affirm the R.C.A. doctrines. The three issues at stake with the R.C.A. were interpretation of scripture in light of the times, recognition of many paths to the divine, and affirmation of homosexuality.

As a result of our separation with the Reformed Church of America and in order to gain full independence and ownership of our property, we were required to pay $400,000 over the course of 10 years.

We are quickly approaching our final payment toward Being Independent!

Would you be willing to help us achieve our goal of $40,000 to make our final payment? We need your support to reach complete independence!

It is very simple to donate to Christ Community Church, through the Network For Good.

The Network For Good is a secure and safe online donations collection center for non-profit organizations. Please consider giving today!

Donate to Christ Community Church now

Microfinancing made easy with Kiva.org

What is Kiva?
Kiva let's you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world -- empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.

Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

Through the Kiva.org website, individuals can loan directly to low-income entrepreneurs--a dairy farmer in Kenya, a man who wants to open a shoe shop in Honduras, or a tailor in Bulgaria--in amounts as low as $25.

Kiva currently has 100% loan repayment rate, and has facilitated over $6 million in loans from over 60,000 people.

What's stopping you from joining the fight against global poverty today?

Check out Kiva.org for more information

The Ocean Refuses No River

Do you have a spiritual connection to the earth? Do you ever wonder how those experiences jive with Christianity? Well wonder no more... In the final sermon of our earth series, Ian explores the ways in which water can teach us many of life's lessons. The Tao Te Ching honors water’s diversity- “Nothing in the world is more receptive and yielding than water. Yet at the same time, nothing can equal it in reshaping the inflexible and eroding the hard.”

The mystic Rumi said, “When you live from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy." Are you living from your soul? Check out this fabulous sermon to begin to see the lessons water has to teach us and to begin living from your soul today.

read sermon text here

Celebrate National Pluralism Sunday

The Center for Progressive Christianity is a non-profit organization seeking to provide guiding ideas, networking opportunities, and resources for progressive churches, organizations, individuals and others with connections to Christianity.

As a national network of 370 affiliated congregations of many demonimations, The Center for Progressive Christianity, will be celebrating the diversity of the world's religions on Pluralism Sunday, on May 27, 2007.

What is Pluralism?
Diana Eck, Harvard professor and founder of the Pluralism Project, writes this as to what it means to her to be a Christian Pluralist,

"Through the years I have found my own faith not threatened, but broadened and deepened by the study of Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Sikh traditions of faith. And I have found that only as a Christian pluralist could I be faithful to the mystery and the presence of the one I call God. Being a Christian pluralist means daring to encounter people of very different faith traditions and defining my faith not by its borders, but by its roots."

Stay tuned for more information on the pluralism celebrations taking place at Christ Community Church including a discussion group on the popular book, "The Faith Club."

For those of you not in western Michigan, The Center for Progressive Christianity offers ways to get involved in a Pluralism Celebration in your area.

We encourage all to check out The Center for Progressive Christianity's website by following the link below to learn more about pluralism.

Learn more about Pluralism Sunday here

<e-zines

^ top of page