Dear Earthlings,
Please join us for a Summer Book Group on Zoom about Julian of Norwich. We will share a cup of tea together at tea time, Tuesday's early evenings, 4:30 pm PST, (or if you are on the east coast, 7:30 pm EST) beginning June 8thfor 8 weeks, through July 27th.
An Explorers Guide to Julian of Norwich by Veronica Mary Rolf
Many of us long to explore the divine feminine or the feminine face of God. Julian gifts us with a loving and merciful theology of the Motherhood of God and she is the first women to write theology in English. Julian of Norwich, a 14th century mystic, had a near death experience and she wrote about her near death visions in the first known book written in English by a woman, Revelations of Divine Love! Julian spent many years reflecting on her visionary experiences and messages from God. Her magnificent book, after years of reflections, offers us divine wisdom which we desperately need at this time of planetary crisis. The world has never needed motherly love and a theology of the Motherhood of God more than now.
This class is a free gift to our local and global community, however tax deductible donations are appreciated and needed by those who are able to donate financially. Church for Our Common Home is an untraditional home and internet church, counseling center, a retreat center on a five acre farm--the John Cobb Eco Farm. In the near future we look forward to building a chapel to pray for Our Common Home Mother Earth. Our beloved community invites the plants, animals and natural world as well as "the least of these" of all kinds. We offer weekly programs in person - in Dallas, Oregon and on Zoom. Worship in June and July will continue to dovetail with the themes of the Summer Book Group about Julian. Please contact me if you want to connect, have ideas, questions or prayer requests.
Sending love,
Bonnie
Zoom for Book Group click on this red link Zoom ID 3025719458
Artists above include a color painting at the top by Kathleen Sibilski. The third painting down is by Stephen Ried and and the statue of Julian is on the front of the Norwich Cathedral made by David Holgate in 2014.
Please join us for Pentecost next Sunday, May 22, 4 pm on Zoom. Bring a favorite animal and plant as your guest from your imagination. Everyone understood people who spoke different languages at Pentecost 2,000 years ago. Today God calls us to comprehend and learn the language of the natural world. Our current worship series on "Julian and Jesus" includes weekly readings and theology from Julian of Norwich and from Jesus. Julian teaches, "God is Nature ......... Nature is God."A New Story on Pentecost for 2021 by Bonnie Tarwater
When the day of Pentecost arrived, at the Julian and Jesus Eco Farm, AKA the John Cobb Farm, they all gathered in the barn with the goats, Matthew, Mark and Luke, along with Susie Q and Molly the outdoor cats, the lettuce, sunflowers, butterflies, bees, roses and grass. The disciples of Jesus and Julian had painted murals on the outside of the barn and had filled the inside of the barn with art work of dreams and visions shared by people trying to live in harmony with God and nature. The Dream Art Gallery featured art work of visions that were coming via dreams at night and during the day of God the Mother and Mother Earth with messages of wisdom and urgency meant for everyone, not just the dreamer. Above is the art work and image of a dream shared at a dream group at Church for Our Common Home. The elephants are coming to the sea shore to try to convince the whales not to give up. The whales believe they are about to go extinct. The elephants beg them, "Please don't give up and go extinct, whales. Please, please listen to us." Mother Mary and Ganesha, the Indian God, together soothe the elephants and stroke the elephant trunks in their transreligious friendship, saying there, there, shhhhh, all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well."
Suddenly everyone on the John Cobb Eco Farm heard what sounded like a violent rushing wind from above and simultaneously with a trembling from deep down under Mother Earth. The noise filled the barn and farm and every creature was in awe of the elements of wind and the Earth. Something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the heads of each creature. All the humans, animals and plants were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as she enabled them. Now they were a devout prayerful community that included earth worms under the earth, to roses, radishes, red robins, as well as human radicals. But the human and non-human creatures were all bewildered to hear their native languages being spoken by one another. They were amazed and astonished: “Surely all of these creatures speaking are all from Our Common Home Mother Earth. How does it happen that each of us hears these words, meows, goat baas and bleats, humans singing along side natures spirits of many varieties and all communicating in their native tongues? …………………..…it’s like when the prophets like Julian and Joel have spoken: ‘In the days to come—it is our Mother Father God who speaks through the natural world —I will pour out my Spirit on all human and non-human kind, all the living creatures. The most unexpected ones will prophesy, your young people will see visions, and your elders will dream dreams and see the natural world calling us to make amends and live with them in harmony. Even the supposed most insignificant of my people and creatures including the smallest Hazel Nut seed as Julian of Norwich taught us--I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy....................and learn the language of love and all about our interconnectedness for we are ONE and everything we do effects everyone else..............there, there, shhhhh, no need to be afraid for as God the Mother says, "All shall be well and all manner of things shall be well............."
Click here to hear playing-pope-francis-ecological-encyclical-set-music "Creator Speaks in the Language of Trees" Composed by Linda Chase, vocals by Nedelka Prescod, piano by Anna Unch Pyon
