MORGAN'S MOMENT...
I was dubious but willing…
     when we set a memorial time
       for mid-March
       at our cabin
       outdoors.
Boats would go with ashes
     to cast them on quiet waters
        snowy mountains reflected
        sea lions barking
        friends watching.
We came early to prepare
     in cold wind driven rain
        still willing
        more dubious
        even fearful.
Lo I tell you a mystery
     dashing my doubts in sunrise
        clear skies
        sun on snowy mountains
        quiet waters.
Do I dare tell you about the eagles
      how they swooped near
         one landing near
         sea lions calling
         wind so still?
I’m skeptical of superstition
      about spirit life in nature
          but on that day
          when the waters calmed
          I felt wonder.
— Art Morgan 

BOOK CORNER
We hadn’t expected to be coming to the cabin, so I’m bookless. But Jean has been chuckling at a mystery that she claims is “so good!” It’s called “Death Shall Overcome,” Emma Lathen. An interesting book to be reading while we are here to do a memorial event!
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MOMENT MINISTRIES
– March 30, 2009 –
    A MOMENT MINISTRIES production – Art Morgan a-morgan@peak.org
WHY NO BLUE SHEET?
Don’t ever count on someone whose operating style is to do whatever comes next. It’s no excuse, but this is what happened.
      On the day I wrote the last blue sheet (March 2) we decided to go to Florida to see my brother. We actually got tickets and left on the 3rd – mailing the last blue sheet as we went!
       We’ve had some great moments…visiting our Florida Morgan branch…and also some trying moments.
       A cabin neighbor, Betty Nease, died on March 5. 123 emails later we had a memorial service set up at our cabin, outdoors (see my “Moment”). I commend Pat, one of the sons, for coordinating plans between India, Seattle and Florida!
       We got home from Florida for a few days (still emailing!) to visit with Mary Ann Parrott, soon to retire President of Disciples Seminary Foundation, then to do Book Club, and to plan and hold our March Thursday Night Moment at our home. One of the best attended in several years.
       Early dawn that Friday we were on our way to Puget Sound to set up for the memorial event! (see my “Moment”). No time to do a blue sheet. My excuses add up. (Our cabin/summer place on Puget Sound is 265 miles from Corvallis. It takes 5 or 6 hours depending on stops)
       On Saturday (see my “Moment”), we hosted 28 people around our outdoor fires, one of four events planned. Ours was where ashes were scattered on quiet waters, and long time friends shared memories of Betty (we’ve had many such events there). Another was in Issaquah where Betty lived her last years; another was a family gathering in a Thai restaurant in Redmond. There was also a Buddhist event planned by her Thai friends. Each event had meaning for different participants.
        We got in on all but the Buddhist event. We used a few days after to rest and send thank-you messages to so many who came and helped.
        Now we are home and I’m trying to catch up. I actually have three back pages written and must choose one. My goal is to get this in the mail while it’s still March so I can say that I met my goal of two blue sheets a month.

AHH, APRIL!
EASTER SUNDAY IS APRIL 12!
    Easter is one of two exceptions to our “never on Sunday” rule. Norm and Alice Glass are once again hosting our Easter Brunch at Inavale Farm. Email messages will add details.
    It’s a guest-friendly event. One of my brothers is stopping by on his way home from Desert Hot Springs. We expect that there will be others as well.
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PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY
In Tribute to Betty

Some lost souls on my mailing list are no doubt thinking that to combine “progressive” with “Christianity” is to commit an oxymoron. Heaven forbid.
Let me explain simply, but remember, numerous authors require books to explain it. It boils down to the fact that most successful churches are called “evangelical.” And there are lots of people who consider themselves “Christian” but not evangelicals. It used to be that the non-evangelicals were called “liberals.” But the word, “liberal” has been besmirched by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, not to mention non-liberal churches that like to link liberals with the devil. Are you with me?
So what do you call the Christians whose churches are still around, but not as exciting as evangelicals? The word is “progressive.”
That is the general public view of the matter.
There is more to it, of course. I boil it down to a difference between biblical studies. “Progressives” tend not to take the bible literally, yet still take it seriously. It’s an entirely different book when read with a historical-critical background. This allows a whole lot of people to count themselves Christians even though many evangelicals would dispute such a possibility.
I am in regular dialogue with blue sheet people about this very subject. Betty Nease, whose memorial service I was privileged to supervise this past week-end was one. She started like many people of faith, believing what she was taught without a doubt – until questions began rising in her mind. I think the fact that her sons kept bringing home lovely women of other persuasions caused her to study world religions. She experienced some weddings and other ceremonies among people of faiths different from her own. I’ve suggested some books through the years. One author she liked was Karen Armstrong. A recent email told me:
“I'm reading Karen Armstrong's "The Bible" and enjoying it, of course. 
I feel mentally more content now that I have been able to separate religion from faith/belief.    I finally realized that the part I don't get along with is religion.”
This is not the old time religion of her mother. It is something that progressive Christianity can handle OK.
“I have been spending quite a bit of computer research time looking up Bhagavad-Gita, Mahabharata, and Upanishads.  We are presently studying Hindu mythology and beliefs in my Ancient Religions class.  Next quarter will be Buddhism…Joseph Campbell next fall, and I look forward to that.”
We’ve talked about these things for more than 25 years. I will miss reports of her spiritual journey.
While I’m at it I’ll report some of the most recent lines from people who either are in the “Progressive” camp, or dangerously close to being so. 
The following comment speaks a bold opinion:
"I have found that Bible literalists have minds like steel traps and an attitude that says, ‘don’t bother me with the facts, my mind is all made up.’ They simply refuse to think!  I wonder if they are fearful about asking questions. God might get mad at them.”
Another reader wrote in response to something I wrote:
“Sometimes we think that others will think us heretics.  Some of my dear friends are ‘literalists’, believing the earth is 5000 years old and that the carbon dating has been proven incorrect.
The politics and the social behaviors of the time were reflected in the scriptures....we believe.
 AMEN!”
A final quote is from one I call a “progressing” Christian, one who is asking the right questions. This is from the page I ended with the question, “Does anyone know what I’m talking about?” She writes:
“This has made me think...IF one accepts any of the Bible, how do you determine which parts to accept or reject? IF one accepts the Old Testament as "stories" written by several different authors, are they "true"? Is the underlying message true?"
Ask enough questions and you’re either out of Christianity altogether or you move into the “progressive” column. Betty asked questions. She had a curious mind. She read important books. And she thought deep thoughts. She’s the kind that tends to find a home in “progressive Christianity.”
It’s not easy to delete a growing spirit from my list.
─ Art Morgan, March 27, 2009