Dear WesleyNexus Colleague:
A lot has happened since the last newsletter. While it is easy to get fixated on political news from Washington, it is important to keep plugged into what is happening beyond Capitol Hill politics. Sometimes events overlap as we saw last month with the March for Science on April 21 and the Peoples Climate March, both of which took place in Washington, DC and other locations around the country. WesleyNexus was there. You can see some of the pictures taken by WesleyNexus participants below. WesleyNexus also participated in the yearly Ecumenical Roundtable for Science, Technology and the Faith, a meeting of mainline church groups dedicated to the belief that science and faith are complementary and enrich each other when one is open to the insights of the other. Jennifer Secki Shields previewed her work in Christian Education at the Biologos conference in Houston, TX and Dr. Roy Clouser spoke at Bethesda United Methodist Church on “How Do we Talk about Genesis in the 21st Century?” In all of these engagements, WesleyNexus joined with others, frequently from very different backgrounds and faiths, to identify and work towards greater understanding and social justice in a world that is rapidly changing. These engagements can be broadly understood as progressive. Progressive in this sense should not be understood politically but as an attitude of working with others towards a better world. The Wesleyan tradition has always been progressive in this sense. In our newsletter this month, we are focusing on this progressive tradition. In addition, we are including resources (articles and videos) on panentheism and process theology. Both these concepts are deeply related to progressive thinking. We hope that you will find these articles and videos instructive and helpful in stimulating discussion.
We continue to appreciate the collaborating groups and sponsors that helped us underwrite expenses for our February live-streamed event, especially The Clergy Letter Project and the Institute for Religion in an Age of Science, but also the several churches and individuals who have sent donations since January 1. Now our budget is in a state of recovery, so if you can manage a contribution, large or small, it will help us tremendously as we develop and present several additional programs during the year. WesleyNexus is a 501 (c)(3) charitable, educational organization, and we will acknowledge all gifts from individuals for tax reporting purposes.
Please send us your pictures of the March for Science to WesleyNexus@aol.com. When we receive them we will post them here.
Thanks in advance for your support.
God Bless,
Rick, Maynard, and the rest of the WesleyNexus Board of Directors