tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post8950666397964111039..comments2023-07-08T10:48:38.190-04:00Comments on my goodly heritage: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship: This I Believe?Martahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494813731003889158noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post-65168371677056697272009-03-24T18:12:00.000-04:002009-03-24T18:12:00.000-04:00i read this to scott outside a few days ago. it's ...i read this to scott outside a few days ago. it's sooo important to me that he understand you. i don't need to understand you because i lurve you :) he agreed with so much of what i read. he's a metaphor FIEND. it drives me a wee bit crazy at times because my mind doesn't work like that. i just appreciatd your honesty and clarity of writing (if not belief) and your interesting take on faith before belief. cool!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post-5577576229049313112009-02-27T19:59:00.000-05:002009-02-27T19:59:00.000-05:00I finally was able to sit down and read this beaut...I finally was able to sit down and read this beautiful post -- well done, Marta!<BR/><BR/>Your thoughts on saying the ancient creeds made me miss my old church so much. It is a traditional Episcopalian church where we'd say the same things and sing the same songs every week and I found it so very comforting. <BR/>The contemporary service we attend now has far fewer of these elements -- we do recite an Affirmation of Faith that is gender-neutral courtesy of the diocese (?) of New Zealand. I don't know. It's just not the same! But, for Lent I am mustering my strength to dive back into church and really be present, rather than putting all my effort into getting there (and there is a lot of effort to get us all out of the house by 8:30 Sunday morning) and then spacing out and/or feeling resentful while I'm actually at worship. Sounds pretty terrible, doesn't it?Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02514055311027146205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post-62363198214765605272009-02-26T08:36:00.000-05:002009-02-26T08:36:00.000-05:00Jeaux accidently put this comment under another po...Jeaux accidently put this comment under another post; I'm pretty technologically illiterate, so I have no idea how to move it:<BR/><BR/>Marta I can't begin to describe how moved I am by this post. I'm going to surround it with a little respectful silence for the time being, except to share a memory that it immediately evoked...<BR/><BR/>I attended an all-male late-night service at a church in New York at least three decades ago. It must have been Catholic or one of the other old sacramentally-based churches, Lutheran or Episcopal. The only thing I remember about it is reciting the Nicene creed by candlelight. That gorgeous affirmation of faith that was, absolutely, all about we, voices solemnly joined, timeless, somehow clandestine, apart, one of the holiest moments I've ever experienced.<BR/><BR/>Thank you for reminding me.<BR/><BR/>(word verification was 'ports')<BR/><BR/>more...<BR/><BR/>Jeaux: I'm so glad my musings sparked such a lovely memory for you! I hope you'll keep coming back to be part of a conversation about faith here. Any friend of Patrick's is a friend of mine!Martahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14494813731003889158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post-19230780393242127022009-02-23T20:07:00.000-05:002009-02-23T20:07:00.000-05:00barelyknittogether: thanks so much! thinking abo...barelyknittogether: thanks so much! thinking about things a lot can sometimes be a detriment, lol, so i'm glad you finding all the stuff in my head interesting! this blog is really a lot about just getting it all out, so i can give my brain a rest. but i'm having fun!<BR/><BR/>jenine: yes, yes and yes! i'm so glad you've decided you can embrace your faith heritage -- it's all about story (not "just a story"), and if you find meaning in this story, that's a good thing, yes? yes! two authors who have been especially significant to me are kathleen norris and marcus borg. you might want to check them out.Martahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14494813731003889158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post-79110603403396443022009-02-23T17:31:00.000-05:002009-02-23T17:31:00.000-05:00I found this very provoking, in a good way. Thank ...I found this very provoking, in a good way. Thank you for describing how you feel energized by your faith and how you feel uncomfortable at certain boundaries. I came here by way of Jo's blog. <BR/><BR/>I feel compelled to tell a bit of my own experience. I am in the process of joining the Episcopalian Church and plan to be baptized in June. For many years I described myself as a heathen who missed choir. I had good experiences with a United Church as a teenager but ultimately decided that my rationalist reservations overcame my enjoyment of church. For a particular example, I didn't think I could say the Apostles' Creed and mean it. <BR/><BR/>I have come to believe that I am allowed to embrace my Christian cultural heritage whether I believe in the virgin birth or not. And I love the old words, the rhythm of the prayers. They are stories and spells and music. I feel that my faith encompasses that distance between literal interpretation and ritual.<BR/><BR/>I have also found that the Bible is very good for honing my feminism. I resist its relentless male centrism. And I think that’s valuable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post-62021070103420952562009-02-23T15:11:00.000-05:002009-02-23T15:11:00.000-05:00I'm so late responding to this, but I have already...I'm so late responding to this, but I have already read it thrice :) I appreciate how much thought you put into things. It's so refreshing to see someone have a well-developed position on something that most people seem to just believe without question. Thank you for your fearlessness and honesty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post-49708488778633513882009-02-21T21:57:00.000-05:002009-02-21T21:57:00.000-05:00Eric, can't wait to talk in person, soon!Greg: Tha...Eric, can't wait to talk in person, soon!<BR/><BR/>Greg: Thanks so much for stopping by and for your kind words. I'm gearing up for gardening, and will definitely be reading your blog. Catholicism is a conundrum, isn't it??<BR/><BR/>Patrick:Thanks pal. I haven't had a chance to read your piece on faith, but I'm looking forward to it!<BR/><BR/>Jo: There's no taking the wind out of your sails, babe You know you are responsible for my entire bloggy existence, and I totally ride along in your wake! <BR/><BR/>I was thinking of you as I wrote this piece, actually, and would love to read your story. A friend and mentor -- a retired college prof who is a convert to Judaism -- recently told me that he's not so sure what he believes either, but he loves saying ancient words. Yup.Martahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14494813731003889158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post-40366205777889332932009-02-21T14:30:00.000-05:002009-02-21T14:30:00.000-05:00Okay, you're three for three in terms of taking th...Okay, you're three for three in terms of taking the wind out of my sails!<BR/><BR/>I'm thinking on a lot of the same issues you discuss, in the frame of Judaism instead. It's funny how close we come to each other in our divergence.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02551872881971981258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post-37966059136005207372009-02-20T17:30:00.000-05:002009-02-20T17:30:00.000-05:00Just lovely. Metaphor is everything to me as well...Just lovely. Metaphor is everything to me as well, in much the same way. The vastness of divinity is something I grapple with quite a bit too, and I'm not sure I believe in a sentient god either, but gratitude is still central to my experience of the divine. <BR/>Damn, woman, you're making my brain explode AGAIN. <BR/>I wrote a much less nuanced exploration of some of these thoughts a couple of years ago. http://palacey.blogspot.com/2006/10/soul-of-evolution.htmlPatrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10556860299477514075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post-73929255946703295512009-02-20T16:45:00.000-05:002009-02-20T16:45:00.000-05:00Wow, what a thoughtful and entertaining exploratio...Wow, what a thoughtful and entertaining exploration of faith. You had my rapt attention (<I>and inspired laughter - transub-whatnow? This recovering Catholic isn't sure, either...</I>)throughout and gave me much to think about. <BR/><BR/>Thanks. I look forward to reading more of your thoughts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3550180966906196055.post-66650710188756961772009-02-20T15:26:00.000-05:002009-02-20T15:26:00.000-05:00The power of Myth (not "myth") is a mysterious and...The power of Myth (not "myth") is a mysterious and beautiful thing, is it not? <BR/><BR/>One of my seminary profs once said, "We don't gather together around what we understand. We gather together around that which we don't and possibly can't understand".Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00407131740895072914noreply@blogger.com